Trapped
by Hop3lessR0mant1c
Summary: I was trapped. Trapped in the Hunger Games with my bestfriend knowing that only one of us could survive. And no matter how much we tried to deny it, one of us was going to die. And one of us would be left alone. We were completely, and utterly, trapped.
1. Just Another Day

**I know I shouldn't be writing another story right now. With school and the other story i'm writing it's a lot to think about, but I can't help it. This is another Cato love story as you can tell by the description, but this one focuses more on Cato and my OC. It's easier to write as well because i've decided to start out with a connection between them at the beginning. So I would love to get some reviews on the first chapter and if you guys have any ideas for future chapters you can PM me or write it in your reviews. Just remember to keep it inside a T rating! Thank you for everything and i hope you like it!**

**From, Hop3lessR0mant1c**

**Prologue**

I wasn't rich. My family made jewelry for a living. I'm not the prettiest girl in my district. My head was covered in long black strands of hair. My eyes were a pale hazel and my cheeks were dotted with freckles. I wasn't the most skilled. I could barely hit a target. My parents were almost never home. They were either out selling jewelry or getting products to make it. Whatever the case I was left to take care of my siblings alone. The only joy I got out of my days was visiting Cato Spectral. He had moved into the victor's village a few months ago. He had recently won the 74th Hunger Games for district two. One day I was delivering jewelry to some victors and accidently stumbled on a loosened rock. I skinned up my knee pretty badly and it happened to be right in front of his house. He had seen me fall and came out to help me. He had medicine that keeps scratches from getting infected. Medicine that my family could only dream of affording. So I would stop by his house on my trips so he could spread the medicine over my wound. We got to know each other and now I make daily visits there. He's become a best friend to me. I can't imagine what my life would be without Cato.

**Chapter 1: Just another day**

"Teena, when will you be home?" My little sister Marigold clutches onto my leg as I pack the jewelry in a basket.

"I'll be home to make dinner for you." I assure her. Marigold was the youngest in the family at 4. The middle child was my sister Bead being at age 9. I had a brother, Trexler, coming in at age 13 and then me being the oldest at age 16. I walk towards the door, dragging Marigold behind me. I'm prying Marigold off just as Trexler walks in.

"Why don't we go for a walk Marigold?" He asks. She squeals and runs over to him. I could just wrestle that boy into a bear hug right now. He takes Marigolds hand and mouths "you're welcome" to me before heading towards the back door. I laugh and head out into the streets and towards the victors village. As I reach the gates a Peace Keeper walks up to me.

"What's in the basket?" He asks in a stern voice. I open the top and show him the jewelry that lies at the bottom. He searches through it and nods his head in approval.

"Can I see your pass?" He asks and holds out his hand. I just smile and hold up the pass I was given. Victor's village is heavily guarded. If you don't have a pass you don't get in. He flashes it with a scanner and waits for the ok. When the scanner flashes green I am free to go. I don't say a word as I head into the village and head towards the first house. I walk up the marble steps and knock on the door. When it opens I come face to face with our best costumer. Her name is Mrs. Oakwood. Ever since she won the games she's always worn Capitol clothing. Today she's dressed in neon green legging, an orange peplum dress, and six inch hot pink heels. Her hair is a mountain of blues and greens. It's a hideous sight, but I keep a smile on my face as I reach in for her order.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Oakwood. I believe this is what you ordered." I hold out her bag which she snatches from my hand in seconds. She looks over it with a skeptical eye and nods.

"Yes, I believe it is. Thank you and have a nice day." She digs into her purse and hands me a ten before shutting the door. I drop the money into my basket and head to the next house. Next on the list is Ms. Joy. She's the normal costumer. She wears yoga sweats and a t-shirt all day every day. She helps train up at the academy. She had been my agility teacher until I had to drop out due to tuition bills. She had been my favorite teacher. She always rambled on about how she would never get married. That marriage just slowed a person down.

"Hello Ms. Joy." I greet her as she opens the door. She allows a small smile to lighten her face.

"How are you Teen?" She asks out of kindness.

"I'm good. I brought your order." I say and hold out her bag of bracelets. She takes them from me and stuffs them into her pocket. She hands me a five and pats my shoulder.

"Thank you." She says before shutting the door. I hop down her stairs and look at the list. I have one more house to go. I smile when I see that it's Ms. Rabbledod. She won the 49th Hunger Games. She was eighteen at the time and had been engaged. When her fiancée died in a freak rock slide she volunteered for the games and won to everyone's surprise. She never had any children so I guess you could say I'm like a daughter to her. When she answers her door she's wearing an old green vintage dress. Her glasses are placed at the end of her nose and her grey hair is up in a tight bun.

"Teena, is that you?" She asks. I smile and nod.

"Well haven't you grown? Come in, come in!" I laugh as she grabs my arm and pulls me inside. Her house is polished and everything is perfectly placed.

"How are you dear?" She asks.

"I'm doing well. We can get three meals on the table." I inform her. Last month was the hardest. We didn't get much money because we don' deliver in winter. Mom and Dad had a biscuit for each meal. I had to stop eating altogether. I lost a lot of weight then and I still haven't gotten it back.

"Good, did you bring me order?" She asks and rubs her wrinkly hands together. I smile and hand her the last two bags.

"I have exactly what you wanted." She smiles and grabs her purse. She digs through it and pulls out a fifty. I am shocked as she hands it to me. Those bags are only twenty.

"I can't accept that." I tell her.

"No, I insist. You deserve it." She drops it into the basket and steps back.

"Now, tell your mother I want a bag of bracelets for my dear friend." I quickly grab a pen and write down her order on a piece of paper.

"Thank you Ms. Rabbledod. I'll be back soon." She smiles and waves at me as I shut the door. That was the last stop. I grin like a lunatic and jog down the steps. I cross the street and jog towards the newest house on the block. The golden gates seem to shine as I push them open. I jump up the steps and bang on the door. I hear footsteps and finally the door opens.

"Cato!" I exclaim and jump into his arms. He chuckles and pulls me in for a hug. I haven't been able to visit for two weeks due to late deliveries and early dinners. When I pull back from the hug I look over him to make sure nothing's changed. His blonde hair is tousled, but his blue eyes don't shine like they had. His skin has lost a bi of its glow and he looks thinner. I frown and grab his chin, turning his head this way and that. I sigh and step back.

"Cato, have you been eating?" I ask. He sighs and looks down at the ground. When Cato had helped me he hadn't looked very well. He had been skinny and a bit dirty. His blue eyes had been dull and his house had been a mess. I had wanted to repay him for the medicine so I helped tidy things up and started cooking for him. In no time he was back to normal. Well normal in looks, but I doubted he would ever be back to normal mentally.

"It's ok. I have time so I'll cook you something." I smiled and grabbed his hand, dragging him into the kitchen. I sat him down at the small table and started looking through the cabinets.

"Why didn't you come visit?" He asks. I sigh and shrug my shoulder, keeping my attention on the food.

"I had a lot of deliveries and dinner had to be made." I explain and grab a bag of potatoes, some rice and a few pieces of chicken. I grab some pots and set to work on cooking.

"You spent a lot of extra time with your family." He says it like a fact. I sigh and turn to face him.

"I never know when I'll see them last." I answer. I look outside and try to swallow the lump in my throat. It doesn't work and I bring my hand up to muffle a sob. In seconds I feel his strong arms wrap around my thin torso and pull me to him. I wrap my arms around him and silently cry into his chest.

"They won't get picked." He soothes. I sniffle and shake my head

"But what if I'm picked? My parents are hardly ever home. They can't quit their jobs and I won't let them send my siblings away Cato! I just won't!" His grip on me tightens as I break down. Finally after a few minutes I regain my breathing and pull back.

"God, I'm sorry." I apologize and frantically wipe at my eyes. He grabs my hands, but I train my eyes on the floor.

"Teena, look at me." I gather all of my strength and make contact with his sparkling blue eyes.

"They won't be sent away, you won't be picked, they won't be picked, and everything will be ok." HE assures me. I smile and nod.

"I'll get your food." He nods and goes to sit back down while I grab a bowl from the cabinet. I scoop some potatoes onto the plate along with some rice and then place a piece of chicken on it. I grab his silver wear and hand him the food. I sit with him while he eats and when he's done I wash the dishes.

"I better head home. I have to make dinner." I say. I grab my basket and head for the door. Before I close it he speaks up.

"Teena?" I stop and turn to look at him.

"It's just another day." He says. I smile and nod.

"I'll meet you back here after the Reaping." We share one last smile before I wave goodbye and take off towards home.


	2. The Reaping

**Chapter 2: The Reaping**

I woke up early in the morning to get breakfast ready. I found some eggs and a bag of flour. We had some milk left too so I decided to make pancakes. I put the ingredients into a stirring bowl and got to work while the metal sheet heated over the fire place.

"I smell pancakes?" I looked over at the doorway and smiled as a very sleepy Trexler dragged himself through the door.

"Good morning buddy! I thought I'd make some for this morning as a treat!" I say and drop the batter onto the sheet. It immediately starts to bubble and that tells me that it's at the right temperature so I go ahead and make more.

"Do you have your outfit picked out?" I ask him. He looks at me and shakes his head.

"I didn't want to pick it out just yet." I frown and stack some pancakes on a dish. I grab some silverwear and put the plate down in front of Trexler.

"We'll pick out your outfit once the girls are up, ok?" I rub his shoulders as he nods and stuffs his face full of pancakes. I make some more and get the plates ready before I go to wake the girls.

"Hey, honey." I whisper and sit on Marigolds bed. Her eye lids flutter open and she lets out a big yawn.

"Time to get up. I made pancakes." I tell her with a smile. She nods and turns around to go back to sleep. I laugh and shake my head. Marigold has never been a morning person. I decide to give her a break and go to wake up Bead. I walk over toward her bed and lean down to touch her shoulder.

"Bead it's time to get up." She rolls over and stretches out before nodding and climbing out of bed. She pads out into the living room while I scoop a sleeping Marigold into my arms. We get back into the living room and I set the girls down at the table with their plates. They start to eat as I clean up the used bowl and stirring stick. I smile as the kids dig in and decide to go lay their clothes out. I get into the men's room and head for the closet careful not to wake a sleeping father. My parents came home late last night from selling jewelry in the Capitol. I pull out some nice blue jeans for both men. I pick out a nice blue dress shirt for dad and a nice green dress shirt for Trexler. I lay the clothes out on Trexler's bed and lay some socks and shoes beside them. Next I head for the woman's room. Let me explain, our house is really small. We have one room for Trexler and dad, another room for my sisters, my mom and I and then one other room which is our living room and our kitchen. When I get to our room I shuffle around in the dresser. I find a cute yellow dress for Marigold and a pink dress for Bead. I pull out a violet dress for my mother and my favorite navy blue dress. I lay some bracelets and a necklace with some shoes beside the dresses and hurry into the living room.

"Time to get dressed. You're clothes are waiting for you." Everyone immediately leaves the table and runs to the rooms. I push in their chairs and place the dishes in a water bin to soak. I take a wet rag and quickly wipe the table down.

"Teena, I need help!" Bead shouts down the hall. I sigh and place the rag back into the water bin before running into the room. She's standing in front of our cracked mirror trying to place her hair. I grab a brush and some bobby pins before heading over. She waits patiently as I brush through her long dirty-blonde hair. Her green eyes watch me through the mirror as I wrap her hair into a bun and hold it against her head as I bobby pin it.

"Why can't I be pretty?" The question takes me by surprise.

"You are pretty." I say and step back from her hair to examine my work. One extra piece falls down and I quickly stick a bobby pin in it.

"But I'm not pretty like you." She argues and turns to face me. I sigh and bend down.

"Sometimes I wish I had your hair and your eyes. I wish I had your freckles and your smile. Baby, you are beautiful." I assure her. She sighs, but a small smile graces her lips. I smile back and pat her on the shoulder before looking around the room. Mom is up getting dressed and marigold is standing on the bed trying to tie her shoes. I instinctively rush over and tie them for her. I don't worry about the men because I now that dad will help Trexler if he needs it. I look up at our old clock and realize its only fifteen minutes until the reaping.

"Crap!" I whisper and grab my dress. I throw my night clothes off and pull the dress over my head. I wrap my hair into a bun and bobby pin it quickly. I pull my socks and shoes on before grabbing my tan sweater and my jewelry.

"Mom, I have to go! I'll see you at the reaping!" I yell and grab my Victor pass before rushing out the door. I run all the way to Cato's house without stopping unless you count the gates. I unlock the door and push it open. With my luck he's probably still sleeping. I rush up the clean marble stairs and barge into his room. It's still dark and the bed sheets swell over his sleeping form. I take my chances and push the curtains open. Light floods the room and a sleeping bear is awakened. I don't even give him an explanation as I run to his closet and start pulling out clothes. I find some nice black dress pants and a nice black dress shirt.

"What time is it?" He asks sleepily.

"It's 8:48. You've got less than 15 minutes." I tell him. His eyes go wide as he almost rolls out of bed in a hurry to get up. I throw his clothes at him as he runs into the bathroom. He takes a quick shower as I pull out some shined black shoes and decide on a hot pink tie.

"Ready?" He asks.

"Come on out!" I tell him. He steps out and the scene is almost funning as steam rushes from the bathroom. He looks snazzy in his clothes.

"You look good." I comment. He smiles and makes and circular motion with his finger. I smile and spin for him with my arms out wide. I laugh as he dog whistles.

"I could say the same for you." I smile and hand him his tie. He looks over it and raises and eye brow.

"Pink?" He asks.

"Trust me, it works." I tell him and grab some hair gel off of his dresser. He sits down to put his shoes on and I crawl behind him. I unscrew the cap and get some gel on my fingers before running them through his soft blonde hair. Once it's spiked perfectly I close the lid and go to wash my hands.

"Are you ready?" I ask. He stands and nods. A moment of silence passes between us before he opens his arms. I smile and walk into them. I lean my cheek against his chest and his arms wrap around my back.

"You'll be fine." He whispers. I smile and nod.

"Meet me back here after the reaping. I have something to show you." He says. I nod and grab his hand.

"Are you ready?" I ask him.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I nod and we leave the house. We walk together to the reaping and split apart when we get there. He walks over to the Victor seating and I find my age group. Of in the crowd I spot my parents and know that my siblings made it here on time. There is a few minutes of silence as everyone fills in and the Reaping begins. Our escort Bumblebee clomps onto the stage in her six inch heels. Her hair is up in a black and yellow striped beehive and her whole attire screams Capitol. She clears her throat and taps on the microphone before letting a wide grin appear on her face.

"Good morning and welcome to the 75th Hunger Games Reaping!" Her voice is to preppy for me. I don't know how anyone can even listen to her.

"Now as one of the many rewards for having a new Victor we will get right to the reaping!" She says with enthusiasm. I know that many of the careers are excited for this year. It's a chance to become the second Victor in a row which means twice the fame and fortune for district two.

"Ladies first!" Bumblebee clomps over to the large fish bowl and drops her hand into the papers. I feel a wave of anxiety run through me at the thought of being picked. Bumblebee snatches a paper and pulls it free. As she walks back to the microphone everyone becomes silent. She breaks the seal and unfolds the paper.

"Teena Cresta!" My name echoes through the square. For moments you could hear a pin drop. I am frozen in place. It can't be me, but she read my name. One foot after another and pretty soon I'm halfway to the stage. As I reach the stairs I try to regain any composure that I have left. I wait for someone to volunteer for me, but no one does. Why don't they? When I reach the microphone Bumblebee wraps her arm around my shoulders.

"How old are you Teena?" She asks. I search the boys and spot a wide eyed Trexler.

"I'm 16 years old." I answer.

"Well, how exciting for you! Now let's find out who you're partner is!" She says and clomps over to the boys fish bowl. I stare at Trexler for a second longer before letting my eyes drag to the Victor Seating. Cato sits there; his face is almost drained of color as he stares at me.

"Colbee Foregrass!" A thirteen year old boy steps out from behind Trexler. His face is pale and his hands are shaking as he walks towards the stage. He won't be entering the games. That much I'm positive of as I see a hand rise into the air, but before the boy gets a chance to speak another voice rings out.

"I volunteer!" My stomach does a backflip as I turn and see Cato walking towards the stage. His chin is held high and his jaw is set in place. There are murmurs throughout the crowd and Bumblebee looks around frantically.

"I'm not sure that's allowed." She says and looks back at the Administration. Cato jogs up the stairs and comes to stand by her.

"The rules state that _anyone_ can volunteer to take the place of a tribute of _their_ gender from _their _district. I volunteered." He says. His voice doesn't even waver. Bumblebee slowly nods and steps to the microphone.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen I give you district twos Tributes. Shake hands." She instructs. I turn and shake hands with Cato. I don't dare look into his eyes because I know I'll break down right here if I do. There are claps as we exit into the Justice building and are sent to different rooms. I sit on the cream colored couch and wait for my first visitor. It doesn't take long for my family to come barging in. Trexler is the first one to embrace me. I feel bile rise into my throat as I hold onto him and kiss his forehead.

"Don't go, Teena." He whispers. I wipe my eyes and bend down to his level.

"Don't worry about me. I'm a fighter. I'll be back before you know it." I assure him. He nods and steps back so Bead can see me. I smile and pull her into a hug.

"I want you to have this." I tell her and pull off my special necklace. She takes it from me and holds it for dear life.

"But you'll want it back." She says. I smile and laugh.

"Then you can just hold onto it for me." I tell her. She smiles and I kiss her forehead before standing up. My mother opens her arms and I quickly walk into them. Her tears mix with mine as we cry silently. She tucks some loose hair behind my ear and then steps back. I smile and turn to embrace my father.

"I know you can do it, Teena. You've always been such a strong girl." He whispers and kisses my forehead. I wipe away my tears and step back. I feel a hand clutch my dress and look down to see Marigold.

"Where are you going?" She asks. I smile and put my hand on her head.

"I'm going to go play a game with some kids my own age." I tell her.

"Can I come with you?" She asks. The sound of her innocent voice breaks my heart.

"No, baby you can't, but I'll be back really soon." I tell her.

"I don't want you to go." She whines and grabs onto my leg. Just than the Peacekeepers open the door.

"Times up." They say.

"Time to say goodbye, baby." I say and try to get her hands off.

"How about we go for a walk Marigold?" Trexler asks her. She looks at his outstretched hand and takes it. Trexler looks at me with a strong face and smiles. "You're welcome" he mouths to me before stepping out. Bead hugs me once and follows them. One more kiss from mom and dad before I'm left alone. Minutes pass and no one else comes. The Peacekeepers get me from the room and guide me to the train. A crowd has gathered to see us off and it's almost too overwhelming. So many people are happy I'm going to fight to the death. It's sickening to me. I try to stay behind Cato the whole way. Finally we step onto the train. The noise of the crowd is cut off as the doors close and we are left alone.


	3. The Reaping from Cato's POV

**Chapter 3: The Reaping from Cato's point of view**

I groaned as light flooded my dark room. Do I get any privacy anymore? I sit up and stretch my arm behind my head. I sigh as my stiff joints pop. I blink a few times before my eyes adjust to the lighting. I open them to see Teena throwing clothes out of my closet.

"What time is it?" I ask. My voice is still groggy.

"It's 8:48. You've got less than 15 minutes." She tells me. I look at the clock and almost roll off the bed when I see that she's right. Damn it! I have to stop over sleeping! I ignore the amused smile on her face as I hurry to take a shower. On my way by she hurls some clothes at me which I catch and throw onto the counter. I shut the door and quickly strip of my undershirt and boxers before stepping into the shower. It takes me about five minutes to wash and dry. I change into the new clothes and exmine the suit in the mirror. She picked out some black dress pants and a black dress shirt. I have to admit that I wouldn't have been able to look this good without her.

"Ready?" I ask.

"Come on out!" She calls back. I turn the knob and step out. As the steam rushes out of the bathroom from my shower her smile only grows wider.

"You look good." She comments. I throw her a sideways smile and then realize it's my turn to compliment her. I ask her to turn for me and she does. As she comes to a stop I can't help, but think of how beautiful she's become. Last year when we met her brown eyes were bigger and more innocent. Her hair wasn't as long and she still had to lose a few baby pounds, but now she's different. Her eyes are almond shaped and defined by the dark lashes that surround them. Her dark hair is long and shimmery and her curves are over exaggerated. In her navy blue dress she looks just plain…hot! I dog whistle and watch as an embarrassed smile forms on her lips.

"I could say the same for you." I say. She rolls her eyes and hands me a tie. I look over it and raise and eye brow at her.

"Pink?" I ask and hold up the tie. I don't even know why I have a _Pink_ tie.

"Trust me, it works." She tells me and grabs some hair gel off of my dresser. I take a seat down on my bed so I can put my shoes on. She smiles and crawls onto the bed and situates herself behind me. I hear her unscrew the cap and her hands begin to mess up my hair. Her fingers move one piece of hair this way and then another one in a different direction until she deems it worthy. She closes the cap and crawls back off the bed. She heads for the bathroom and washes the gel out of her hands. Once my shoes are tied I stand and watch as she walks out and comes to a halt in front of me.

"Are you ready?" She asks. I nod and scan my eyes over her face. A moment of silence passes between us before I open my arms for her. She smiles and walks into them without hesitation. I grin and wrap my arms around her back. Our moments like these are different for me. These moments with her are a way for me to show my sensitive side to someone who understands it.

"You'll be fine." I whisper to her. I feel her cheek press against my chest as she nods.

"Meet me back here after the reaping. I have something to show you." I tell her. I found this place once while I was out and I've wanted to show her, but I've never gotten the chance. Promising to show her may be able to calm her down. She pulls away and reached down to take my hand.

"Are you ready?" She asks me?

"As ready as I'll ever be." I tell her. She nods and we make our way out of the house and towards the square. By the time we get there the square is buzzing with people. Most of the careers are laughing and joking about the games while others stand still in anxiety. I smile at Teena before heading over to sit with the other District Two Victors that came to watch the Reaping. Sitting closest to me are the current mentors, Brutus and Enobaria. I was told that once they retire or deemed unfit to Mentor I'll step in for them. Truth is that I don't want to mentor. Too many connections would be made. I would have to become hard and unreadable. I showed that side of me once and I don't want to show it again. I turn back to the stage in time to see the districts escort _Bumblebee_ clomp up onto the stage. I almost laugh at her outfit. Who in the world would think that dressing as a beehive would be fashionable?

"Good morning and welcome to the 75th Hunger Games Reaping!" Her annoying voice rings out over the crowd. I can't believe I didn't kill her last year when I was a tribute.

"Now as one of the many rewards for having a new Victor we will get right to the reaping!" She says with enthusiasm. Some Careers cheer with excitement. I feel a snarl form as I think about it. They think it's an honor to become tribute. They don't know the true horror of the games.

"Ladies first!" Bumblebee clomps over to the large fish bowl on stage and digs her hand into the papers. I watch as she snatches a paper and pulls it free. As she walks back to the microphone everyone in the square becomes silent. She breaks the seal and unfolds the paper.

"Teena Cresta!" Her name echoes. I am shocked, stunned. I feel the color drain from my face as she steps out and walks towards the stage. No one is volunteering! That's impossible, but I guess it's not because she gets as far as the microphone and still not one word has been spoken. Suddenly my shock turns to anger. She has a family, a life. She isn't a career! Someone should have volunteered, but they became too surprised, too frozen to say anything. I watch as Bumblebee wraps an arm around Teena's shoulders. Teena's pale face is projected onto the large screens and her eyes search the crowd until she finds something.

"How old are you Teena?" Bumblebee asks.

"I'm 16 years old." She answers immediately.

"Well how exciting for you! Now let's find out who you're partner is!" She says and clomps over to the men's fish bowl. Teena's eyes drag over the crowd until they connect with mine.

"Colbee Foregrass!" I watch as a thirteen year old boy steps out of the crowd. I am up out of my seat just as I see a hand rise into the air. I have to beat them.

"I volunteer!" I call out and walk towards the stage. For a second I think Teena is going to be sick as her face turns from white to green and back.

"I'm not sure that's allowed." Bumblebee stutters and looks back at the Administration. I ignore her and jog up the stairs.

"The rules state that anyone can volunteer to take the place of a tribute of their gender from their district. I volunteered." I argue. My voice doesn't waver. Bumblebee slowly nods and steps to the microphone.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen I give you district twos Tributes. Shake hands." She instructs. I turn and shake hands with Teena. She does everything she can to avoid my eyes. The crowd claps as we are ushered into the Justice building. Once I'm in my room I wait. Sure enough my door is thrown open and in barges a red Brutus.

"Why the Hell did you do that!" He yells at me and slams me against the wall. I rip his hands from my shirt and shove him away.

"I did it because I wanted to!" I yell at him. For a second I think he believes it before Enobaria barges in.

"That's a load of Crap." She says while inspecting her nails. I snarl at her and she just cocks an eyebrow.

"At least it's half the truth!" I tell her. Brutus clenches his fists and tries to control his anger.

"Then tell us exactly what the truth is." He seethes. I sigh and look towards the window.

"You did it for her didn't you?" Enobaria asks with an amused smile.

"You wouldn't understand." I tell them. Brutus lets out a breath and puts his hands behind his head.

"Damn it Cato! She's just a girl!" He says. I snap around and glare at him.

"She's not just a girl, Brutus!" I yell at him.

"Then what is she Cato?" He asks.

"She understands me! She took care of me when I needed it! I was a mess without her. We're bestfriends. I owe it to her." I explain, but they still don't seem convinced.

"You're wrong Cato. You have feeling for her. I can see it in your eyes." Enobaria says.

"How would you know?" I ask her.

"I've had a lot of love-sick tributes and they all had that same look. You love her." The sad thing is that the more I think about it the more I realize she's right. No matter how many times I deny it I've started to develop feelings for Teena.

"To risk your life for a girl is stupid." Brutus says. I chuckle and shake my head.

"Then I'm a complete idiot." They both share a look before the situation becomes smooth and natural.

"Just be careful, Cato. Love in the games is a path for disaster." Enobaria warns me.

"Be prepared for extra work outs." Brutus jokes. I roll my eyes as they leave the room. No one else comes after that. The Peacekeepers come and escort me to the train. We meet back up with Teena and I almost laugh when she hides behind me as we walk through the crowd. Finally we make it onto the train and the cheers are cut off as the doors shut behind us.


	4. The Train Ride

**Hola amigos! So this chapter is from Teena's perspective. In case you ever get confused the chapters that will be from Cato's Point of View will be labeled ****_Cato's Point of View_****. I also have some different POV's that will come into play and they will also be labeled. Every other chapter is from Teena's Point of view. So, thank you for all your great reviews on all my stories! See you later!**

**The Train Ride**

Once the doors closed I slowly stepped into the car. I don't think my eyes could have gotten any wider. The train walls were painted a forest green with white trimming. The glass was covered in food like danishes, fruit, chocolates and even more. I reach a hand out and gasp when it's slapped away. I turn to glare at Bumblebee.

"Ah, ah, ah! Not yet dear. We have to get you some real clothes." She grabs my hand and drags me towards a small hallway.

"You know you're way around Cato." She calls back. I don't have time to look behind me as she pulls me into a room. It's amazing. The queen sized bed had a beautiful metal frame. I walked over and ran my hand over the bright green sheets.

"That's silk made from district one." She said and handed me a towel.

"Go take a shower and come out when you're done." She said and pushed me into the bathroom. When she shut the door in my face I turned and admired the room. The tub was a granite octagon. The shower head was a flat plate on the top of the ceiling. I quickly stepped out of my blue dress and stepped in. I didn't know exactly what to do because I had never had a shower like this before. There was a blue nob and a red nob so I tried my luck with the red one. I grabbed it and turned it to the left. The water blasted me immediately and I screeched in shock. It was scolding hot. I turned it off and waited for my skin to stop sizzling. I grabbed it again and turned it to the left, but I didn't turn it as far. The water came on again, but it felt amazing. I sighed and let my head lull back as the water ran over my skin washing away all the dirt. I looked around and spotted a yellow bar sitting on a holder. I grabbed it and struggled to get a grip as it slipped around in my hands. I finally got hold of it and began to wash my skin. It bubbled and spread across my skin leaving the air smelling like lemons. I put the bar back on the holder and washed the bubbles off. Once that was done I reached up and took my hair out of the bun. It fell out of the bun and down my back. I grabbed a nearby jar that was labeled **Shampoo** and unscrewed the lid. It was filled with a white gel that smelled like sage. I got some in my hands and rubbed it into my hair. It lathered up to cover my head. I washed it out and decided that was enough for one shower. I turned the water off and stepped out. Once my feet hit the floor mat hot air blasted me. I almost fell over as it dried me. It shut off after a few seconds and I was completely dry. I grabbed the towel and wrapped it around my body. I felt my hair and was impressed by how soft it felt. I quickly put it back up into a bun before stepping back into the bedroom.

"Well now that you're clean let's find you some clothes." Bumblebee said and hopped over to the closet. I watched as she opened it and almost passed out. The closet had two levels for hanging clothes, a shoe organizer and doors that lined each side. The bottom opened in levels to reveal sparkling diamonds and other jewelry. Bumblebee shuffled through some things and came back with a handful of clothes. She handed me some black lace underwear and turned her back as I changed into them. She then laid out a sleeveless dress. It cut off at the knee and had a beautiful light green and brown box design. She put some brown high heels by it and laid some jewelry on the bed.

"Go ahead and change. Then come out and we'll have dinner so you can all get to bed early." I nodded and watched as she left the room. I jumped a bit when her beehive hair stuck back in.

"Oh and leave your hair down." She says before exiting again. I scrunch up my nose, but know she'll probably through a fit if I don't. I just don't know why, but I've never been a fan of having my hair down. I quickly pull the dress up and sit down to pull on the heels. I put on the jewelry before I stand.

"Here goes nothing." I whisper and push up off the bed. I wobble a bit, but steady myself. I smile and take one step before I collapse. I slowly crawl over to the bed post on my hands and knees. I lift myself up again and am more careful with my steps. Ever so slowly I make my way out into the hall and back into the dinning cart. Everyone is seated around the table when I enter. All four heads look my way as stand in the doorway like an idiot. I recognize the blonde as Enobaria and the other man as Brutus. I continue around the table until I meet blue eyes. His face is priceless and I feel my cheeks get hot as he stares at me.

"Why don't you take a seat dear?" Bumblebee asks. I nod and stumble over to the empty chair by Cato. He surprises me by standing and grabbing my arm to steady me. He leads me over to the chair and pulls it out for me. I throw him a thankful smile because without him I would have fallen over in front of our mentors. Once he pushes in my chair he sits down himself.

"So, you must be Teena?" Enobaria asks and forks a strawberry into her mouth.

"That would be me." I say and look down at my plate. It's filled with foods off every kind. Just looking at it makes my mouth water. I pick up my fork and start to dig in.

"Manners Teena." Bumblebee whispers. I gulp the food in my mouth and swallow. I hear Cato's low chuckle as I reach for a napkin. I continue to eat my food, but I make sure to take it a bit at a time.

"So, let's cut to the chase and realize that one of you or possibly both of you will not be coming back." Brutus said. It felt weird to hear those words leave his mouth because I knew that they were true.

"Cato has a good chance. You…not so much." He says. Cato throws a glare at Brutus and I realize it's time to stand up for myself.

"So what can you do to change that?" I ask. Brutus gives me an amused look and leans back in his chair.

"Well depends on what you can do." Enobaria speaks up. I think it through and come to grips on the fact that I can't do anything. Sadly Brutus sees past my strong girl mask.

"That's what I'm talking about honey. It's time to accept that the goodbyes you said will be your last." My fork drops from my hands as if I've gone numb.

"_Brutus that's enough_!" Cato snarls at him. I push my plate away and hold myself stable as I stand.

"Excuse me." I whisper and carefully walk back to my room. Once inside I close the door and take a seat on my bed. I'm not even at the Capitol and I've already been torn down. I look into the mirror hanging on the wall and sigh. I slip of my heels and put my hair back into a bun. I push myself back onto the bed and lean against the metal frame.

"Teena?" I look up as Cato steps into the room. He smiles down at me and comes to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Sorry about Brutus. He's always like that." I nod and look up at him. I feel something fall down the side of my cheek and quickly bring my hand up to wipe it away.

"He's right though. I'll never see them again." I say. He pulls me close as I choke back a sob.

"No he's never right. He though I wouldn't win. He thought I was too arrogant." I laugh and give his shoulder a light push.

"You still are." I joke. He scoffs in mock hurt which only makes me laugh harder.

"Can I ask a favor?" I ask him.

"Anything." He says.

"Can you teach me how to sword fight?" I ask. A grin spreads across his face and he nods eagerly.

"Thank you!" I exclaim and give him a hug. He laughs and gladly returns it before pushing himself up.

"I'll just tell them you were tired." He says and winks at me before leaving. Once the doors closed I lie down and pull the covers over my dress covered body. Maybe tomorrow will be better.


	5. Welcome to the Capitol

**Welcome to the Capitol**

"Rise and shine! It's a big day!" Bumblebee's voice filled my ears. My eyelids fluttered open and I slowly sat up. I pull the covers off and hop out of bed. I'm almost smacked in the face when Bumblebee chucks some clothes my way. I scramble around in order to catch them before they hit the floor.

"You need to get dressed and then come and have breakfast." She instructs and slams my door. I huff and throw the clothes onto the bed. I look over them and when I do I feel like dying.

"Bumblebee, come back here!" I scream. She bursts into the room and I turn with my arms folded over my chest.

"What is that?" I ask and point to the long strip of leather that is a dress. She looks at it and then back at me.

"It's your dress." She says.

"I will not wear that." I tell her.

"There's nothing wrong with it." She says. I give her a fake laugh and hold it up.

"It's a piece of leather! I will not wear it." I argue with her.

"Wear it or don't, but you'll thank me if you do." She says in a sing-along voice and walks out. I clench my teeth and strip out of my dress. I throw on some new undergarments and stare at the dress for I don't know how long. A mental battle rages inside my head and eventually I give in. I step into the dress and pull it up. It cuts off about mid-thigh. The leather is stretchy and black. It has one sleeve that travels down into a zipper. Down on side it extends to form a loose black cap. It is the most revealing thing I have ever worn and I become very insecure. How do people wear these things? I pull on some black boots to finish the look. I brush through my hair and pull it into a pony tail. When I walk out only Cato is in the room. He looks out the window, still unaware that I'm behind him. He brings a glass of water to his lips as I clear my throat. He turns around and chokes on the water. I can't help but giggle as he coughs.

"You look….great." He says in a raspy voice. I smile and feel myself blush. I look over him and my blush only grows. He looks handsome in his black jeans and leather jacket. His black t-shirt is a V-neck and is tight enough to outline his six pack.

"You don't look too bad yourself." He opens his mouth to say something when Enobaria and Brutus walk in.

"Here you are. Did you get your beauty sleep, princess?" He asks me. I smile and nod.

"I did. Thank you for asking." His face is half amused, half insulted. Mother always said kill them with kindness.

"Good because we're here!" Bumblebee exclaims. I walk over to the window and gasp. It's huge! Buildings shoot into the air and as we get closer I start to make out crowds of people. They line the streets as we pull in. They all smile and wave at the train as it passes. I smile and wave back knowing that the act is part of surviving. Cato puts on his signature smirk and scans over the crowd with unmoving eyes.

"It's show time!" I swear I'm about to strangle Bumblebee. The doors open and we file out one by one. The minute my feet hit the landing I am swarmed by people. They all yell my name and I am blinded by the flashes of cameras. I don't realize I'm gripping Cato's arm for dear life until he puts a hand over mine and leans down.

"Just follow my lead." He whispers. I take a deep breath and nod. I loosen my grip on Cato and hold my chin up high as we walk through the crowd.

"Teena over here!" someone yells. I put on the best arrogant smirk I can and look over my shoulder. More camera's snap as the public cheers my name.

"Teena Cresta, I'm from Capitol news. How does it feel to be reaped for the Games?" A man in a bright yellow suit asks and holds a microphone up to my mouth.

"You'll have to wait for the interviews." I say with a wink and continue on. We make it to the remake center not a moment too soon. Once again I am pulled apart from Cato and lead to a separate room. In seconds I am strapped down to a table. Capitol people swarm around me and I squirm under their grasp. They buffer my legs and wash my face. I eyebrows are plucked and my legs are waxed. By the time they're done I am red all over and itchy. I can't feel the skin on my body for a few minutes.

"How do you think she looks?" the girl brushing my hair asks.

"I think she looks good." Another one speaks up with a smile.

"Here he comes!" A girl with Red hair exclaims and claps her hands. The room's door opens to reveal a tall man. His hair was died a bleach blonde. He seemed surprisingly normal for a Capitol citizen.

"I'm Woof Copperwood, your stylist." He introduces himself. I nod and remain silent as he flips through some papers.

"Teena Cresta. 16 years old. Parents are Meeka and Marcoh Cresta. Has 3 other siblings, Marigold, Bead and Trexler." He read off a slip of paper. It took me a minute to process the fact that all of my data was available to him. He put the paper away and turned to stare at me.

"I'm sorry about your case. Usually I don't get a lot of Tributes that are scared or underestimated from district two. They usually come in prepared and arrogant." He says and takes a seat.

"Now I need to ask you to take off the robe." My eyes go wide and he lets out a chuckle.

"Don't worry. It's only to get an idea for your costume. I promise you I'm not a perv." His comment gets the corners of my lips to curve into a smile. I slide off the table and let the small blue robe slide off my shoulders. It falls to the ground and he nods. Slowly he stands up and circles me. I feel awkward under his gaze, but it's not bad. His eyes are not….hungry they are thoughtful.

"You can put your robe back on." he says. I quickly slide it around myself and take a seat.

"Now the last couple of years our tributes have been dressed in roman armor." I smile remembering the way Cato looked last year dressed in his golden armor.

"This year I have thrown away the idea. This year we're going for rock." He says with a smile.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"District two involves Masonry. I have chosen the two strongest stone for your outfits. Granite and Marble." I think it over and realize it's not a bad idea. He pulls out a white bag and hands it to me.

"Your outfit is inside. Get dressed and call me in when you're done." I nod and wait until the door is closed to pull the outfit out. The fabric is soft to the touch and pitch black with silver dust that shined in the right lighting. I threw the robe off and pulled on the top. The sleeves were very loose and flowed down to my wrists. The top cut off below my bra line and showed off my slim stomach. It felt surprisingly comfortable. The pants were the same fabric as the shirt. They were loose and flowed down to the floor. I pulled out some black high heels with the same silver glitter. The last touch was a beautiful black granite necklace. There was a knock on the door and I slowly walked over to open it.

"It looks perfect. Now I thought we would leave your hair down." He says. I nod and let him mess with my hair a bit to get it perfect. He pulls a bit of it back with some granite hair pins and then pulls out a small box. He has me sit down and then opens it to reveal eye shadows.

"Personally I have never trusted a stylist team with my designs." He says with a small wink and continues to apply the makeup. Once he's done I look into the mirror. I gasp as I stare at my reflection. I look completely different, but I look unbeatable.

"It's amazing." I whisper and smile up at Wolf.

"Let's not keep the others waiting." He says and I follow him out of the room towards the stadium.

**Hey guys! Just wanted to say that I may not be able to update very much because of school and marching band. I'll be really busy, but I'll try to update whenever I can. Thank you for everything! You guys are amazing! oh, and if you have any questions just PM me or leave a review I'll be sure to answer. Thanks again!**


	6. Tribute Parade

**Tribute Parade**

When we arrived at the chariot holding room most of the tributes were already there. Most of them didn't pay any attention to me and I was thankful for that. The problem was most of them were staring at something else and that something happened to be Cato. Most of the boys had jealous looks on their faces and most of the girls seemed to swoon over him. I can't blame them either. He was dressed in a black suit. His tie was sparkling with the same dust on my outfit. His black banks were slick and his shoes were dust covered as well. He looked around for a minute and did a double take when he spotted me. I felt my cheeks get red as I continued towards him. The corner of his mouth turned up into a smirk as he looked over my outfit. I think his eyes lingered on my bare stomach a bit longer then needed. As if on instinct my arms come up to cover the bare skin.

"Well someone's modest." He teased. I give him a mock glare and take the chance to sweep my eyes over the tributes. AS I look around my eyes meet deep brown ones. The girl that studies me is petite, but her strength is noticeable. Her red hair is cut short and an arrogant smirk forms on her lips as she looks over me. Next to here is a tall male. I doubt that he is as tall as Cato, but he comes close. His light brown hair travels to just above his eyes and his hazel eyes are harsh. Unlike the petite girl next to him his face is expressionless.

"That's District Two's tributes." I tore my eyes away and looked back up at Cato. Something by his ear caught my eye and I reached up to turn his head to the side. When I did I raised an eye brow in amusement.

"What did they do to you?" I ask and stare at the small flat granite earring.

"It's not to girly is it?" He asks and the look on his face tells me he's serious.

"No, it's kind of has a bad boy vibe." I joke. He rolls his eyes at me and I let out a laugh.

"Ok you two, time to load." An instructor told us and went to tell the other tributes. Cato stepped onto the Chariot and offered me a hand. I gladly took it and let him pull me up beside him. On top of the chariot I felt like I was about two feet taller. The effect would have been better if Cato wouldn't have been standing by me. At a towering six foot two I have yet to meet another person his size. In fact the first time we met he teased me about my small height of five foot five. Having heels on helped me gain an extra couple inches though. Suddenly the doors started to open and I felt my grip on the chariot tighten.

"Just stare straight ahead." Cato whispers as he sets his gaze. I listen to his instructions and focus on the small podium at which President Snow will speak. District one's chariot pulls out and we follow right behind them. I keep my balance as the horses pull us into a slow canter. The crowd's cheers are almost deafening. I catch a glimpse of my face projected onto the screen and make out the call of my name. We pull into the ending circle and wait for the other chariots to arrive.

"Teena, Catch!" I turn my head far enough to see a small boy pull his arm back and throw mw a red rose. My hand flies up and I catch it above my head. He smiles and I nod to him trying hard to keep my expressionless face. I hold the rose tight as President Snow stands from his seat.

"Welcome! Tributes we welcome you! We wish you a happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor." His voice echoes through the stadium and the citizens cheer with excitement. I feel the bile rise in my throat as President Snow smiles down at us. Slowly we pull out and suddenly it feels like we can't get out fast enough. When our Chariot stops Cato jumps down and helps me next. Wolf, Enobaria, and Brutus are waiting for us already.

"You did surprisingly well, but I'm still not convinced." Brutus says. I glare at him and put my hands on my hips.

"Well what can I do to convince you?" I ask.

"Much more than that." He says and motions for Cato to follow him. Cato looks down at me and smiles before leaving with him.

"Let's get you to the room." I nod and let Enobaria lead me after the boys. We use take the elevator up to our room when we get there I am blown away. It's nothing like I have ever seen before. The furniture is clean and modern. The walls are painted a brilliant green and the windows look over the city.

"Isn't it incredible? They just repainted it yesterday!" Bumblebee exclaims and walks down the stairs.

"Now your rooms are down that hallway and this whole place is open for you." She explains and disappears into her own room. I decided to get changed so I travel down the hallway until I come to a door that's labeled with mine name. I open the door to find a bed that is almost exactly like the one I had on the train. The only difference was that instead of green silk sheets they were orange downy sheets. I almost like the color better than the green. I set the rose down on the bedside table before I took a quick shower. This time the soap and the shampoo smelled like strawberries and lemons. It felt good to take another shower. When I got out I brushed through my hair and then pulled it into a low pony tail. I found some comfy sweat pants and a tank top with a sweater. I grabbed the rose off the table not bothering to put any shoes on and walked back into the lounge room. No one was at the table so I decided to sneak a snack. I grab an apple off the counter and pass the refrigerator when something catches my eyes. It's a picture of all the tributes that have been from district two. I search through them and find one of Cato. I recognize it and when I study it more I realize I had taken it. When he came home I remember sending it to the Capitol to get money. They had asked for pictures of him and if they liked one that person would win two hundred dollars. I made sure no one was looking before I grabbed it from its place and tucked it into my pocket. I headed for the couch and flopped down when I got there. It was a bit weird for me to listen to the silence and know that no one needed tucking in. For one of the first moments in my life I could truly relax.

"Hey stranger." I jumped a bit and looked up to see Cato come walking in. He was dressed in grey sweats with a white muscle shirt. All I can do is take a huge bite of my apple to hide the "oh-my-god" expression on my face.

"Where'd the rose come from?" He asks and swipes it from my hands.

"This little boy threw it to me at the parade." I tell him. He nods and reaches down sticking the stem of the rose into my hair. I laugh and roll my eyes.

"Where is everyone?" I ask him as he sits down next to me.

"They all went to bed. Career curfew is early, but I've always broken the rules." He says with a wink. I laugh and take a bite of my apple.

"I think I might go join them." I say and take one more bite before throwing the apple away.

"But I just got out here!" he argues. I shrug and ruffle his hair.

"I'm tired." I argue back and head for my room. I hear him turn on the TV as I close my door. I quickly discard my sweater and take the rose out of my hair before burrowing under the covers. I close my eyes for a second before I decide to get some water for the rose. I don't want it to dry out just yet. I get back up and throw the sweater on again. I almost go to knock on Bumblebees door, but decide to save my face from mutilation. I'm not sure she likes her beauty sleep to be interrupted. Cato would probably know where a glass was around here. I see light coming from the lounge room and realize that he has the TV on. I'm quiet not to disturb him and lean against the hallway wall. There's a man on TV with hot pink hair and I recognize him as Caesar Flickermen. Next to him is Claudius, his partner.

**"Now I think we have a very interesting Game this year. Don't you Claudius?"** He asks.

**"Now I thought it couldn't get any better after last year, but when Cato volunteered again!"** I can't help, but frown at the mention of his volunteering.

**"I was so intrigued! I can never forget the show he put on next year. Let's take a look."** Cato I leaned forward as if drawn to the TV. I remember Cato's games. The blood and the mess they turned out to be. The star crossed lovers from district twelve and the crazy blonde from district one. The anthem played and the blood bath was played. The camera zoomed in on Cato as he sprinted off the pedestal and right into the blood bath. He killed anyone who got in his way and finally He got to the mouth of the shining metal cornucopia. When he turned around a long gleaming sword was in his hand. In seconds he closed in on a boy tribute and mercilessly brought the blade down across his abdomen. I looked down at the floor and focused on something other than the screams. Once they cut off I looked up and saw they had flipped to the winning scene. Cato was on top of the cornucopia with Peeta, the tribute from twelve, in a head lock. Slowly he drew the famous bloody X on Cato's hand. I watched the realization flash in his ice blue eyes and he side stepped Katniss's shot. It hit Peeta straight in the chest and Cato threw him to the mutts below. Her next Arrow bounced off his body armor as he barged at her. She shrieked as he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into the metal cornucopia.

"You killed him. How does it feel to have killed him?" He taunts her. His voice is fierce as if it could cut you like blades.

"You were the reason she died. Now you can feel my pain." I cringed as he slammed her into the metal below. Once again I closed my eyes until I heard the crack of bone. I opened my eyes and stared at the floor until I saw the hot pink light that was Caesar. Cato sat still. I slowly crept over and saw that his eyes were clouded and darker than normal.

**"I can only wonder what surprises are in for us this year."** Claudius says while Caesar gathers his papers.

**"This has been Capitol News, until tomorrow where I will be coming to you live with the Tributes themselves."** I grab the remote and press the power button. The TV blinks off and I place a hand on Cato's shoulder to tell him I'm here. He turns and stares at me with those cold eyes as I throw the remote back onto the couch. I walk around the side and come to stand in front of Cato.

"Let's get you to bed." I whisper. He slowly stands up and I wrap my arm around him as we walk down the hall. When we get to his room I push the door open with my other hand. His room is painted a dark blue and his sheets are a black silk. I walk him over to the bed and pull back the covers. He sits down and swings his legs up onto the mattress. Once he lies down I pull the covers back over him and sit on the side of the bed.

"How much did you see?" He asks in his deep voice.

"I saw a guy sitting on the couch watching TV." I say. It's not meant for a joke, but I don't want him to think I saw anything bad. I know Cato has killed, but what career wouldn't if it meant he could get home.

"How much did you see?" He repeats and waits for an answer.

"I saw a guy who was fighting for his life." I change my answer only slightly.

"I'm a monster." He whispers, but keeps his eyes locked on my face. I give him a small smile and reach down to grab his hands. I reach into my sweater pocket and pull out the picture, placing it in his hands. I bend down and place a chaste kiss on his forehead before standing.

"Goodnight Cato." I whisper and head for my room. The flower vase can wait for tomorrow.

**So I just wanted to check in and ask how the story was going. If you guys have anythign you might want to see in the future dealing with Cato and Teena or their families are other tributes just PM me or leave a review! Thanks for reading and for your awesome reviews! Check in later, bye!**


	7. A Small Reminder from Cato's POV

**My Games**

Once we had made it back to the room I took a well-deserved shower and changed into some grey sweatpants and a white muscle shirt. It was pretty late and I knew everyone would have gone to bed, but I wasn't tired. I didn't just want to sit around either so I left the room and headed towards the main lounge. I entered the room to see Teena in sweats and a sweater sitting and eating an apple. For some reason I got this weird feeling in my stomach. Almost like just seeing her sitting there made me…happy.

"Hey Stranger." I said with a grin. She turns and smiles at me as I walk towards her. I notice she's holding a small rose in her hand and wonder where she got it.

"Where'd the rose come from?" I ask her and snatch the rose from her hands spinning it between my fingers.

"This little boy threw it to me at the parade." She says with a soft smile. I nod and reach down sticking the stem of the rose into her long brown hair. She laughs and rolls her eyes, but little does she know she's beautiful in my eyes.

"Where is everyone?" She asks me as I sit down next to her.

"They all went to bed. Career curfew is early, but I've always broken the rules." I explain with a wink. She lets out another sweet laugh and takes a bite of her red apple.

"I think I might go join them." She says and takes one more bite before throwing the apple away.

"But I just got out here!" I argue. Usually I would be fine with being alone, but I know it'll seem quiet without her. She just shrugs and ruffles my hair. I mock glare at her as I bend out of her reach and try to fix my hair.

"I'm tired." She argues back and heads for her room. I hear her shut her door and decide to turn on the TV to escape the quietness. I turn on the Capitol News and roll my eyes when Caesar Flickermen comes on the screen. This time his hair is a hot pink same as his suit and tie. It was worse than his blue hair last year.

**"Now I think we have a very interesting Game this year. Don't you Claudius?" **He asks the pudgy faced man sitting by him.

**"Now I thought it couldn't get any better after last year, but when Cato volunteered again!" **I smirked and leaned back into the couch.

**"I was so intrigued! I can never forget the show he put on next year. Let's take a look." **Immediately I leaned forward as if drawn to the TV. I had only watched the recaps of my games once. The anthem played and the first scene was of the blood bath. I sprinted of the pedestal and sprinted right into the blood bath. I fought anyone who got in my way and finally I made it to the mouth of the cornucopia. When I emerged I had a long gleaming sword in my hand. My eyes locked on my first target, the boy who had stolen my knife. I closed in on his and mercilessly brought my blade down across his abdomen. I didn't even bother with him after that as I ran towards a small girl from district 7. She too fell at my sword and I leaned down to grab a metal water canister. The blood bath was coming to an end and they switched to the winning scene. I was on top of the cornucopia with Peeta in a head lock. Slowly I watched as he drew the X on my hand. I watched the realization flash in my eyes and I side stepped her shot. It hit him straight in the chest and I threw him to the mutts below. Her next Arrow bounced off my body armor as I barged at her. She shrieked as I grabbed her and slammed her into the metal cornucopia.

**"You killed him. How does it feel to have killed him?"** I taunt her. She claws at my hands, but it's useless. I can still feel the sense the fear rolling off of her in waves.

**"You were the reason she died. Now you can feel my pain." **I snarled at her and slammed her into the metal below. She gasped only the have me slam her down again. With each hit her attempts to escape became weaker and finally I heard a crack that made my cringe. I stood and looked down at her limp body. Without any remorse I kicked her off the cornucopia and down to the dogs like I had Peeta and then the screen went blank.

**"I can only wonder what surprises are in for us this year." Claudius says while Caesar gathers his papers.**

**"This has been Capitol News, until tomorrow where I will be coming to you live with the Tributes themselves." **He says with a grin only a Cheshire cat could pull off. The TV blinks off and I feel a and on my shoulder. I turn around to see Teena standing there with the remote in her hands. She throws it onto the couch and slowly comes around to stand in front of me.

"Let's get you to bed." She whispers. I slowly stand up and she wraps an arm around me as we walk down the hall. She pushed the door open to my room and walks me over to the bed. She pulls back the black covers and I sit down, swinging my legs up onto the mattress. She pulls the blankets back up and sits down on the side of the bed.

"How much did you see?" I ask her, breaking the silence.

"I saw a guy sitting on the couch watching TV." She said.

"How much did you see?" I repeat.

"I saw a guy who was fighting for his life." She said.

"I'm a monster." I whisper. She smiles down at me and grabs my hands. She reaches into her pocket and puts something into my hands before bending down and placing a chaste kiss on my forehead.

"Goodnight Cato." She whispers and heads back into the hallway. I looked down into my hands and found a folded piece of paper. I slowly unfolded it and smiled as I studied the item. It was a picture of me when I had gotten home. It was taken from far away, but it was clear enough to see that I was standing there after getting off the train. My father stood there patting my back with a proud smile and I was bent down holding my crying mother in my arms. I remembered that moment. It was the moment I knew I was granted life for another day.


	8. Training

**I want to apologize for the last chapter. I know it was really short, but I wanted to try and get a another chapter in that was from Cato's perspective. To make up for it I made this chapter pretty long. Oh and I was wondering. Do you any of you think i should change the story image. I liked it at first, but I think it could be better. If you have any ideas for what to looks for I would appreciate it! Thank you for everything. This story is getting amazing ratings! You guys rock! **

**From, Hop3lessR0mant1c**

**Training**

I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed. I looked horrible. I didn't get much sleep last night due to…well I really don't know. I didn't have nightmares, I just couldn't fall asleep. I thought about Cato's games, but that didn't have anything to do with it. I mean he was a different person in those games. I wasn't scared of him….or was I? I rolled my eyes and pushed the thought out. It was silly to worry. I shouldn't worry about anything anyway. I have training today which means I have to focus. I decide to worry about how I look tonight for the interviews. There's a knock on my door and I answer it without a second thought.

"These are your clothes for training. Be down there by seven sharp." Enobaria snaps and pushes the folded clothes into my hands before heading back down the hall. I think I'm going to make it my mission to become friends with that woman. I shut my door and lay the clothes on my bed. I tug off my pajamas and pull on the pants first. They stretch and shape around my legs. They're easy to move in and very comfortable. I have to admit that they form to my shape pretty good. I pull on the shirt and it's the same thing. It's form fitting like the pants, but short sleeved and easy to move around in. I dig through the closet and find some nice combat boots. I remember seeing the older kids at the academy wearing them when they walked past. I pull them on and then find a nice black leather jacket to pull on. I put my hair into a loose pony tail and let some strands fall loose across my face. There's another knock on my door and this time I am slower to answer. I pull it open and see that it's Cato. The first thought that comes to mind is the fact that he looks amazing. His toned abdomen is outlined by his tight training shirt and his arms muscles look huge in the short sleeves. The second thought that comes to mind is to make sure I'm not drooling. Third thought is telling me to act natural.

"Hey Cato!" I say and lean against the door frame. He smiles and shrugs.

"I was wondering if I could walk you to Training. Enobaria left you and I bet she knew you didn't know the way." I pursed my lips.

"I didn't think of that." I admitted. We laughed and I stepped out of the room closing the door behind me.

"I would love to have an escort." I said. He smiled and we headed out of the apartment. We used the elevator to get to the lobby even though I'm sure the careers usually use the stairs. We get into another hallway and head towards the door at the end.

"Are you ready for your first training?" he asks. I'm sure he's talking about swords. I gulp and take a deep breath.

"I've been ready." I say casually. He just smirks at me and opens the door. We step in and I let out a loud breath. The room is crazy big! Stations are set up with different objects and weapons. In the middle a circle of tributes is forming. We quickly jog over to join in and we make it there just as the clock hit's Seven. Thank the good Lord. I can only imagine what Enobaria and Brutus would have done if we would have been late, but I'm pretty sure Cato would know. A lady steps into the circle and debriefs us on the rules and stations before dismissing us to do as we please. I go to head for some empty station when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn and see Cato.

"I was, um, just gonna go and try my trade at….rope." I say with a nervous twinge in my voice.

"Sword training starts now." He says and drags me over. He picks out a sword for himself and then hands me one. I take it from his hand and am surprised by how light it is. I grip it at the hilt and move it through the air to get the logistics of things. Cato smiles and swings his around before taking a stance.

"Ok, first let's work on your position. Feet shoulder width apart with one slightly in front of the other." I nod and slide my feet apart putting my left foot slightly in front of my right. Cato nods in approval which gives me the hint that I'm catching on.

"Now the basic attack is just to step forward and swing." He says and before I know it his sword is barley grazing my nose. I freeze and slowly push the blade away from my beautiful face. I follow his moves and step forward with my right foot bringing my sword around with my arm. Cato stops it with his hand and laughs.

"Bring it around with your arm and wrist not with your shoulder." I nodded and stepped back taking the starting position and bringing the sword back around. This time it swung with a greater force and came around faster. Cato ducks my swing with a triumphant smile.

"That was better. Now, let's go for free style." Just as he says it I have to push myself back as his sword almost chops off my arm. He doesn't hesitate to bring it down to wear I fell and I immediately roll out of the way. I push myself off the floor, breathing heavy.

"Cato stop." I say and hold my hand out motioning for him to hang on. He just looks at it and swings. I yelp and move out of the way as he takes another swing. I notice that his swings are getting closer to me as we go.

"Cato I'm not ready for this." I say. My voice is changing. I'm not confident that he'll stop anymore. He ignores me and takes another swing this time his blade skims my cheek. I hiss and bring my hand up to feel it. When I look at my hand I see a thin line of red liquid running across it.

"That's enough!" I shout and bring my sword around. He blocks my attack which only fuels my rage. I swing again throwing all my energy into the attack. His sword comes to meet it only to have him stagger back in an effort to keep his balance. I take the advantage and bring my sword down upon his causing it to fly out of his hand and onto the ground.

"I think we're done here." I say. I feel the anger rolling off me in waves and I hope he feels it too. He stares at me; his expression a mixture of shock and amusement, but there's something else in there that I can't put my finger on. I glare at him as I head towards the rope section. This could have all been avoided if I had just started here instead. The station is empty so I take advantage of the time and spend it asking the Trainer that's there for help. In only a few minutes I've managed to get five knots perfect. Ok, so maybe it took a bit more time then I'm letting on, but it was pretty fast.

"Your one of the best I've had so far. Remember snares will definitely help you in many areas like trapping big game and even tributes." The trainer reminds me before I head off to another station. I want to test my agility, but Cato is at that station and I've decided to avoid him at all costs for the rest of the day. I look around and spot a girl at the knives throwing station. I recognize her as the district one girl. I watch her as she grabs a set of sharp daggers and takes position. In seconds all the daggers are embedded in the farthest dummies and my jaw is lying on the floor. I shut my mouth and straighten my posture before walking to the station.

"You the girl from one, right?" I ask trying to be nonchalant. She looks me up and down before nodding, but she doesn't say anything.

"I'm Teena, the district two tribute." She raises and eyebrow at me and looks over towards Cato.

"You sound like you're the _only tribute_ from two. What about him?" she asks and nods towards Cato. I roll my eyes and shrug.

"Let's just say I'm not worried." I say and lean back on hip crossing my arms over my chest. For a moment the corners of her mouth curve upwards.

"I like your attitude Two." She says and grabs a few more daggers.

"How'd you learn to throw knives like that?" I ask.

"My mother taught me everything she knew." She says and throws one hitting it dead in the forehead.

"Think you could give me a little basic training?" I ask. She looks at me and nods.

"Grab a knife." She says. I grab a small knife off of the rack and move to stand beside her. I take up her stance best I can and watch as she brings her arm back and extends it forward. I try and copy her and the knife flies out of my hand. With my luck it hits one of the middle dummies, but it hits the leg. I here snickers and look to see Cato standing across from us at the spear station. He smirks at me as he laughs. For a millisecond I think of how good it would feel to watch that knife sink into his leg.

"That wasn't bad for a newbie. Try again and this time use your wrist more. It's not an arm motion; it's all in the wrists." She says and throws another. This time I focus in on her wrist and see that it moves on the last second of the throw causing the knife to fly through the air at a lethal speed. I take up the stance again and take a small dagger into my hands. I take a deep breath and exhale as I bring my arm forward, but at the last second I flick my wrist. The dagger leaves my hand and in a second I hear the thud of the impact. I look and smile when I find the handle sticking out of the dummies abdomen. I know it's still not the best shot, but it's enough to kill someone in a matter of hours, maybe even minutes if you hit an organ.

"Not bad Two. I would suggest you grab a dagger in the arena, but they're mine so I suggest you don't." she says with a wicked smile.

"I never caught your name." She looks at me and grabs another handful of daggers.

"I'm Blade." I nod and start to walk away when she calls my name again.

"Oh and Teena!" I turn and look at her.

"That wasn't a warning." She says. I watch as she throws her next dagger and it hits a dummy square in the throat. Fake red blood gushes from the site indicating that it was a instantly fatal shot and I understand what she meant. The clue to stay away from the daggers in the arena wasn't just a warning…it was a threat. I now recognize blade as the District one Career she is and have to get it through my head that in a few days those dummies are going to be us. I sigh and look around. I find the agility section open and smile. I run over there before anyone else gets there and decide to take my chances on the rope climbing. It's easy at first to get my footing, but the farther up I go the harder it gets. When I reach the top I come to a flat section of netting. Just what I wanted to do. I take a deep breath and slowly inch my way out onto the netting. I take my time with the footing as I hang upside down.

"This isn't so bad." I whisper and I realize Karmas a bitch. I take one more step and lose my footing completely. I am now hanging at least fifteen feet in the air hanging onto a rope. My hands start to turn red as the thick rope cuts into them.

"Why do I have to be so heavy?" I breathe out and grip the rope tighter. I try and swing my legs back up onto the netting, but I can't get my footing back. It's either hang here or fall. Oh, please don't let me fall. I try hoisting myself up with my arms, but it's useless.

"Oh, Lord help me." I pray silently. I look up at my hands and close my eyes as I let go. I feel myself fall and clamp my mouth shut. The last thing I need to do is scream and show everyone I'm a scared little girl. Land on your feet! You have to land on your feet! My mind shouts at me to try and save the last of my dignity. My eyes snap open and I look down at the fast approaching ground. I bend my legs and raise my arms in the air as I hit the ground. I immediately feel a scorching pain shoot up through my ankle and shut my eyes as I roll to a stop. I lie there for a few minutes before slowly pushing myself up. I can't put weight on my foot, but I act as if I'm ok and it's just a little twist.

"Took a little fall there Two." Blade says as she walks over and pats me on the back. Her pat causes me to put weight on my foot and I let out a grunt, but quickly cover it up with a cough.

"Nothing I can't handle. Usually I could get through that at the academy. I guess today is a weapons day for me." I say with a fake laugh. I feel tears start to form around my eyes and cover it up by pretending that I laughed too hard. As far as I could tell my story was working and no one was paying attention to my fall anymore.

"I'm gonna go get something to drink. Have to stay hydrated." I say and excuse myself into the hallway. When I get a good distance away from the door I gasp lean against the wall taking the weight off my ankle.

"Teen, you ok?" I look over and see Cato rushing towards me. He bends down and slowly undoes the strings to my combat boots. Once he gets it off he takes my ankle in his hands.

"Don't touch it." I groan. He does exactly the opposite and bends it in his hands. I gasp and let out a yelp, yanking it from his hands.

"I said its fine!" I yell. Not so much out of anger, but more out of annoyance. Can't he just go away. I grab my boot and start to hobble back to the training room.

"You should have the capitol fix it." He says.

"I'll let them fix me with their plastic surgeons in….never." I say and continue to hobble.

"I'll admit you played it well in there, but once they see you hobble your story goes out the window." I freeze and turn to face him.

"I hate it when you're right." I say and hobble back over to him.

"Lead the way." I say and motion for him to go. Instead he leans down scoops me into his arms.

"Or you can carry me." I say and try not to lean against his chest. His perfect chest…I mean…no that's exactly what I mean. We walk in silence down the hallway and turn to the right through another corridor until we come to a separate room. A ginger opens the door for us and I instantly want to punch her in the face.

"Oh you poor baby! Let's sit her down right here." She says and leads us to a table. Cato sets me down and I watch as she lays a hand on his arm.

"You are such a kind strong young man! You're lucky to have each other." My eyes go wide and I feel like gagging…sot of.

"Well we do love each other. Don't we sugar plum?" Cato says and throws an arm around me shoulder. I smile and nod.

"I can't imagine life without you Honeybun." I chime and lean in the plant a kiss on his cheek. The lady blushes and leaves us. With my lips still planted on his cheek I open my mouth and clamp down on his skin. He gives a grunt and pulls away rubbing his cheek.

"What was that for? I thought you liked it." He jokes. I roll my eyes and realize I'm still supposed to be mad at him.

"In your dreams." I say and look away from him. Just then a doctor comes in and gives me a shot of a pink liquid. I scrunch my nose as I watch it disappear into my system, but my ankle feel better. I wait a few minutes and find that I can walk on it again. I thank the doctor and we start to head back to the training room.

"I suggest you do something your good at when we get there just to make sure no one developed doubts." He says. I nod and ignore him.

"We'll probably talk about alliances tonight at dinner with Brutus and Enobaria." I nod once again and continue on my Ignore-Cato streak. There's a long silence before he finally notices I'm just ignoring him.

"What's wrong?" He asks. Ha, as if he doesn't know.

"Nothing." I say and shrug. He sighs and groans.

"Fine be that way. I'll get it out of you tonight." He says.

"I'm sure you will." I say and for some reason I can't wait for him to try and get it out of me.


	9. Interviews with Caesar Flickermen

**Chapter 9: Interviews with Caesar Flickerman**

After training I was physically and mentally exhausted. I had gone back and separated from Cato, heading for the camouflage section. I had thrown a few more spears and even tried my bet at hand-to-hand combat. Turns out I'm pretty good at it, but I have a long way to go before I could ever take on someone like Cato. After that training was dismissed so the tributes could rest up for interviews. I left a few minutes before Cato and literally dragged myself through the halls and into the elevator. I was covered in sweat and all I wanted to do was take a shower. No one was in the apartment when I got there and I figured it would be better for me to get cleaned up before Mr. Ego got up here and caught wind of my odor. I walked to me room and quickly got out of my training clothes. I grabbed a bra and some underwear before heading into the bathroom. I turned on the water and made sure it was at a nice temperature before I stepped in. I felt a lot better as the sweat and smell washed down the drain. I rinsed my hair and washed my limbs with some soap. I couldn't really make out its scent, but it was somewhere between thyme and rosemary. Once the bubbles were all washed off I stepped out and grabbed the red towel that was hanging on the door. I dried myself off and made sure the towel was secure around my body. I grabbed a comb and ran through my hair a few times to make sure any knots were gone. I put on some deodorant and then let the towel fall. I quickly threw on my undergarments before opening the door back into the bathroom. I began humming an old lullaby and turned to pick out some comfortable clothes.

"What song is that?" I gasp and spun around. Cato sat there on my bed his hands resting on his stomach as he stared at me. I felt my face start to boil both in embarrassment and anger.

"Cato Spectral what are you doing in my room!" I yelled at him and hid myself behind the closet door.

"I thought I would wait for you to get done." He said with a casual shrug of his shoulders.

"Well maybe you could wait _outside_." I said and grabbed a sweat shirt from the closet. I threw it on along with some sweat pants and stepped out from the closet.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" he asked. I rolled my eyes and went to sit down by him on the bed.

"Says you." I say.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks me and sits up a bit.

"Well you were the one with the amazing view." I said and motioned to myself letting out a giggle as I did.

"So I'm not a good view?" He asks and raises an eyebrow at me.

"You're ok." I said.

"Just ok huh?" He asks and suddenly grabbed me. His fingers squeezed my sides as I screeched and wiggled under his grip.

"Cato stop, please!" I choked out as he continued his attack.

"Ok, that's enough you two. Let's get something in your stomach." Enobaria said and walked past us into the kitchen. Cato paused and I took the moment to jump out of his reach and bolt after Enobaria. I heard Cato chuckle as he go up and followed us into the kitchen. The table was already set for us and Brutus was waiting with a fork in his hand.

"What took you so long?" He asked and looked over at Enobaria for an answer.

"Kids." She said.

"Well I don't like taking care of two year olds." Brutus muttered and started to shove food into his mouth. I took my seat and then looked over to see Cato was already shoving some mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"Like tribute like mentor." I mumbled. Cato and Brutus almost immediately stopped eating and looked up at me.

"We are nothing alike princess." Brutus said and pointed his fork at me. I laughed and nodded.

"Whatever you say Brutus." I quickly shoved some peas into my mouth and took my time savoring the fresh vegetable.

"So about interviews tonight, we need a plan." Enobaria said and folded her hands together.

"What do you suggest?" I ask her.

"Well I think Cato should go with the usual Career, but I don't know what to do with you." She said.

"We all know you can't do what Cato can. So what can you do?" Brutus asks me. I feel a bit offended by the fact that he still doubts me.

"I can be tough." I glare at him.

"Is tough always the best?" A voice cuts in. We all look over to see Bumblebee fixing her makeup in the living room mirror.

"What do you mean?" Enobaria asks her. It's kind of surprising that she's asking Bumblebee anything.

"Well remember that couple…um…Catnip and Peter?" She asks.

"You mean Katniss and Peeta?" I correct her.

"That's the one! Well That Peeta was a real soft fellow and it worked well for him." She says and takes a seat at the table. I look between Enobaria and Brutus.

"It's not actually a bad idea." I say. A hint of a smile is seen on Enobaria's lips as she slowly nods.

"You two are already close. It's a good tactic." Brutus agrees.

"Then it's settled. I'll be Bestfriends with the Victor." I say. We all agree and continue to talk about the interviews until it's time to go. We walk together until we reach the bottom floor and split up. I head to my stylist room and wait there for Wolf. He walks in a few minutes later and smiles at me.

"You look ready." He says and hangs a black dress bag on the door.

"That's a good thing?" I ask him. He laughs and nods to me.

"Yes it's a very good thing." He says. He unzips the bag and pulls out a stunning white marble printed dress. It's sleeve less with a sweet heart neckline. Theirs a long slit that travels up to mid-thigh and Wolf pulls out some silver high heels.

"When did you make this?" I ask him and hold the dress up to myself.

"I had the idea this afternoon. Like I told you I had wanted to do something with Marble." He says. I smile and start to take off my sweat shirt when I remember I have only a bra on underneath.

"Do you mind?" I ask him. He smiles and nods before walking out the door. I quickly pull off my comfortable clothes and pull the dress over my head. The fabric is soft and seems to flow along the curves of my figure. As if on cue Wolf comes back in. He wastes no time in sitting my down and working on my hair. His brushed through it a few times before pulling it into a tight bun on top of my head.

"No makeup?" I ask as he pulls out a black velvet box.

"Not this time, my dear." He says and opens the box. He pulls out two marble pins and sticks them into my hair on either side of my bun. He helps me put on the high heels and I am ready. To say I'm beautiful is to complimentary.

"I don't do this dress justice, Wolf." I tell him. He shakes his head and lays his hand on my shoulders.

"I can think of no one else who would give it as much justice as you do." I blush at the compliment and let him lead me out into the hallway.

"I'm a bit nervous." I admit to him when we get to the waiting room for tributes.

"If you have any nerves you look at me. I'll be in the crowd watching the whole thing." He assures me and then gives me a friendly peck on the cheek before heading off.

"Teena?" I turn and see Cato staring at me with a cocky smile on his face.

"See something you like?" I ask him.

"It's possible." He says and holds out his hand. I smile and take it eagerly. He leads us over and sits us down on one of the couches. Once the Interviews start I feel the nerves start to pile up. Cato must have noticed because he gives me hand a squeeze and leans over.

"Just take some deep breathes." He whispers in my ear. I nod and take a few breathe. It helps calm me down a bit and I keep my fingers intertwined with Cato's. Once Blade is finished she walks off the stage and Cato stands up. I don't realize I haven't let go of his hand until he turns to me.

"Might want to let go." He says. I blush and take my hand back as he walks onto the stage. His confidence is overwhelming as he casually greets Caesar with a handshake as if they've been friends forever. He sits down in the armchair and pulls a leg up over his knee.

"Good to have you back Cato and may I say it's quite a surprise to have you back." Caesar says. Cato laughs along with the audience and nods.

"Well it's good to be back. I guess I just couldn't stay away." He says.

"I think we would all like to know what you were thinking when you volunteered?" Caesar asked and immediatly the crowd cheered in response.

"District two's crop hasnt been looking very good. So when I saw that boy step out my hand just went into the air." Cato answered with a smile. Only i knew that wasnt the reason. It couldnt have been.

"Now Cato tell me, what are your plans for this year's games?" Caesar asks.

"To dominate the games and take out anyone who gets in my way." He says with his signature smirk.

"Well let me say that I am going to be watching ever moment." Caesar says with a smile. They both stand and Caesar holds Cato's hand high in the air as if he's just won a wrestling match.

"Ladies and Gentlemen I give you Cato Spectral!" The crowds cheers for him as he walks off stage. He spares me a small smile as he passes. I take a few more deep breathes before getting up and walking onto the stage. The lights are bright and harsh enough that I have to blink a few times before my eyes adjust. Caesar smiles at me and lets me sit before sitting himself. I cross my ankles like Bumblebee had instructed, but slouch just a bit. I make sure not to look to girly, but I smile at the crowd and at Caesar.

"Teena Cresta let me just say it is a pleasure to have you here." He says.

"The pleasures all mine Caesar." I respond with a smile.

"Now I watched your reaping and I have to ask who you were staring at in the crowd?" He asks me with a questionable gaze.

"I was looking at my brother." I tell him, but I don't use his name for safety.

"I'm sure your family is honored to have you represent them."  
He says. I smile through the little pain that I felt and nodded.

"I'm sure they couldn't be prouder." I agree. The crowd is smiling and all the women hold kerchiefs up to their eyes.

"One more question before you leave us. What is your relationship with Cato?" He asks. This is the question I've been waiting for.

"Cato and I are very close to each other. I would say we have a very strong connection. We are Bestfriends." I say with an honest smile. Caesar stands up and kindly helps me up as well.

"Ladies and Gentlemen I give you Teena Cresta. Bestfriends with the Victor!" The crowd goes wield as Caesar turns to me. He bends down and places a kiss on my hand.

"Until next time." He says with a cat-like smile.

"Hopefully there will be one." I tell him and walk of stage with one more smile to the crowd.

"Hopefully there will be one." I whisper to myself again because even I am having a tough time believing there will be a next time.

**Sorry that I haven't been updating much. School has been really keeping me busy, but Marching Band season is over for us so I'll have more time to focus on my stories. I'll try to update again sometime this week for you guys! You're amazing and I just want to say thank you for being amazing fans! I would love some more comments just so I can know how you like the story so far! **

**Thank again from, Hop3lessR0mant1c**


	10. Authors Note 1

**Hey guys! HopelessR0manti1c here! So I know how some people really don't like author notes so much so I decided to write a separate one so then you have a choice on whether you want to read it or not. So I'm currently working on finishing up my story ****The 25****th**** Tribute**** and I'm working on my new story ****Bestfriends with the Victor****. I've had some amazing Reviews on both stories and both have become really popular. I think my favorite type of story is a Cato/ OC and I think we could use a few more. I like to look through other stories though. Especially Niall Horan stories because I'm a big fan of him. I've read some of your stories and I think you are all amazing authors yourself and I feel bad that I haven't really been following up on you guys and for everything you guys have done for me I think it's something I need to start doing. I do have some new story ideas that have started to pop up in my head and I was thinking about starting one of them after I'm done with both my Cato/ OC stories. So here are some of my ideas.**

**Holding Onto You: A Niall Horan love story**

**You Can Be My Wings: A Fang love story**

** It Started With My Favorite Book: A Cato love story**

**Harden My Heart: A Rock of Ages ; Stacee Jaxx love story**

**The problem is that I seem to always work on two or more stories at a time and that gets me off track so I was wondering if you could help me out. Vote for the story you would want to see next. PM it to me or leave it in a comment. I'll read them and then the story with the most votes will be the one I work on and the only one I work on! Thank you for all your wonderful reviews and helpful comments. You're amazing people and I hope to update soon! **


	11. Time with the Gamemakers

**Hey guys! I am soooooooo sorry for the long wait. I know I keep saying it is school and stuff and that I'll update as soon as possible and I just want you guys to know that that really is the case. Believe it or not this is my soon and thank goodness this is possible. Throughout all of the waiting you guys have been fantastic though. Thanks for your wonderful reviews and a special thanks to RoseMaple for leaving wonderful reviews for ****_every chapter_****! So on with the story!**

**Chapter 10: Individual scores**

This morning I got up early. I'd been restless all night unless you count the one hour of sleep I actually got. Every other moment I was either pacing around my room or rolling off of the bed. I'm surprised I didn't wake anyone up, but Cato can be a very heavy sleeper. I didn't bother changing when I got up so I was still in my shorts and a cami when I went out into the living room. The table was already set with fruits, multigrain fibers and other delicious stuff. At least the table isn't full of candy or desert because then I would be fat in a matter of two days. I heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall and turned to see a _very _sleepy Cato emerge into the light.

"Good morning!" I exclaimed. I laughed as he flinched a bit.

"Are you always this cheery?" He asks in his deep morning voice. I laugh and get him a glass of ice water before answering.

"Only on some occasions, but I try to be cheery all the time." I watch as he drinks the whole glass in less than a minute and hands it back to me. He runs his fingers through his hair a few times and shakes his head. After his little stretch and shake I start to see him return.

"Better?" I ask him. He looks at me and nods.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" I ask him and hop over the couch settling in.

"We have alone time with the game makers and then the day is ours." He says and settles in next to me, but not before grabbing a piece of toast.

"Will Brutus and Enobaria talk to us about it?" I ask him.

"Yes, they like to make sure we know what we're doing." He says and I can understand that. I would probably be lost if Enobaria didn't give me and idea on what to do. Now Brutus would probably love to send me in blind.

"Great they're up." I look up to see Brutus and Enobaria come over to join us.

"Speaking of the devil." I mutter under my breath.

"What was that?" Brutus asks me with a glare. My eyes go wide and I point to myself.

"Were you talking to me?" I ask him innocently. His glare turns deadly as he takes a seat across from us.

"Don't be a fool Kitty." He warns me.

"Thanks for the warning Tiger." I shoot back and hear Cato laugh. Brutus's eyes snap to Cato, who instantly covers up his laugh with a cough and straightens up.

"Sorry." He says quickly. Brutus nods and throws one more glare at me before closing his eyes and reclining in the chair.

"Ok, let's talk serious." Enobaria says and looks between the three of us. I'm starting to get a very motherly vibe from her and I have to admit that I like it a lot. She almost reminds me of my mother…..almost.

"Cato you stay and talk with Brutus. Teena follow me." I nod and stand following Enobaria out of the room and into my bedroom.

"Why did we have to split?" I ask her.

"What you do with the game makers is strictly confidential. That includes your district partner and even your mentors." She informs me.

"So what are you talking to me about?" I ask her.

"I'm here to give you direction so you don't make a fool out of yourself, but what you do when you see them is up to you." I nod and take a seat on the bed waiting for her to continue.

"Now tell me exactly what you're good at." I think over what I did in training before coming up with the top three things.

"I'm good at hand-to-hand combat, I'm _ok_ at swords and I'm great at bows and arrows." She nods in approval and I suddenly feel accomplished.

"What about survival?" She asks.

"I'm amazing at ropes and snares, my weakness is camouflage and I'm ok at determining what to look for and what to stay away from." Again she nods and I wait silently as she thinks.

"I want you to show them one of your survival skills first and then give them everything you've got when it comes to weapons." She instructs.

"Enobaria?" She looks at me and waits.

"What happens if I don't get a careers score?" I ask her. I've seen careers get lower than what's been expected and almost all of them die within the two days because the other Careers decide to kill them off or the game makers did. Enobaria looks at me and brings her hand up to touch my shoulder.

"I don't think that will be a problem and if it is I'll make sure no one touches you in the arena." I feel assured by what she says. Not only because of her determined tone, but because for half a millisecond I see her strong motherly bond come through.

"Thank you." I say to her. She nods and heads back out into the Living room. I stay behind for a few minutes to make sure Brutus and Cato are done. I can't imagine what Brutus would do if I walked in on their conversation. When I do go back into the living room Brutus has vanished and Cato is sitting on the couch. It's actually hilarious. His arms are draped over the back and his head is lolled over to the side. I smile because whenever he's asleep Cato reminds me of a little boy or just a regular teenager that didn't have to go through so much. I feel the first stab of guilt for pretty much making him volunteer. If we wouldn't have been so close he would have let me go in with someone I didn't know. I hated making him go through all of this again. I slowly walk over and sit down next to him. He moves just a bit, but doesn't wake up. God that boy is tired. I smile and softly place my hand over his heart. I feel the soft thump against my hand and my smile widens. I would do anything to just listen to its rhythm all day.

"What are you doing?" I pull my hand back in surprise.

"I-I didn't think you were awake!" I stutter. Cato just looks down at me and shakes his head.

"Girls, they just can't keep their hands off me." I scoff and slap him on the chest. His eyes widen a bit in surprise as he rubs his chest.

"What was that for?" He asks. I smile and shrug.

"I just couldn't keep my hands off of you." I say innocently and quickly jump up and run to my room before he has a chance to grab me. I close the door behind me and this time I lock it before sliding out of my clothes. I grab some new Underwear and a new bra before changing into my training suit. Thank God it's been washed or else someone's head would roll. I pull it on and grab a matching jacket to throw on before grabbing my combat boots. I finish putting them on in the living room and make sure not to stare directly at Cato when he walks in. Even when I do look at him I have to refrain myself from drooling once again.

"A-are you ready to go?" I stutter. I quickly clear my throat and brush a fallen strand of hair behind my ear. Cato smiles and slips on his jacket before we head out the door.

"We should do something together when we get back." I say as we continue down the hall. He's about to say something when Blade walks up.

"It's almost time to start. Where were you?" She asks.

"We were talking to our mentors." I answer her. she looks at me and nods as if she accepts my answer.

**"Cato Spectral." **A voice called over the speaker. I looked at Cato and almost laughed as I watched him fix his hair.

"Good luck, Cato." I tell him and reach down to give his hand a squeeze. He smiles and waves to me as he disappears through the separating door. I follow blade over to the benches and sit beside her and the other careers. As they talk and laugh I stare at the metal door that is blocking Cato from my view. I wish I could know what he was showing the Game makers. I'm smart enough to know he'll use his sword skills. Most likely it was those same skills that got him a score of 10 in the previous games.

"What are your plans?" Blade asks. Suddenly all the careers want to know what I plan on doing.

"Isn't that meant to be a secret?" I ask nervously. They all laugh, but I'm smart enough to know they aren't laughing with me.

"Yes, but we're a pack. We tell each other things we need to know." She says and waits for me to reply.

"Sorry, but I've been instructed otherwise." Blade nods, but the way her eyes slant means I've offended her in some way. I take it that's not a good thing to do.

"Fine have it your way." She says and turns back to the careers who just glare at me. For the next few minutes I feel like a bug under a microscope. I feel their gazes on me and then they disappear back into their little huddle. Only when the room doors open do I feel relief. Cato strides out with a smirk on his face and a bit of sweat glistening on his skin. I stand and he walks over to me without a glance at the other careers.

"How'd it go?" I ask.

"It went well." He pauses and looks around the room before leaning down close to my ear.

"Meet me on the balcony after you're done." He whispers and gives me a wink. I laugh and try to make my blush less obvious. I watch as he heads back down the hall towards the room and I am left to have my time. I take a deep breath, like Cato had told me to do at the interviews and walk in. One foot in front of the other. All that I hear is *Click* of my heels on the floor. The room is filled with everything we were exposed to at training. High above the room sits a Glass conference room. Game makers are sitting in the chairs and standing by the table that is filled with food. I come to stand just below it and try to make myself look taller then I actually am.

"Teena Cresta, District 2." I introduce myself. The lead Game maker, Seneca Crane nods and motions for me to proceed. The first thing I do is go to the ropes. I show them my butterfly knot and my figure eight. I also decided to show them my water knot and slipped buntline. I hold up each knot for them to see before racing to the plant's sections. I complete the quiz in less than a minute. I look at the time and see that I have three minutes left. I take a few seconds to turn to the game makers only to find them looking at me and ….laughing. Some of them point to my knots and smile like it's the funniest sight in the world. I feel the embarrassment and the anger swell up inside of me. It's time to show them that I'm a fair competitor. I go to the knives and as I wrap my fingers around one of the small handles I feel better. I feel power and as I take my stance I hear more chuckles. This only propels the knife through the air when I let go of the handle. It takes one *Thunk* and the place goes silent. I hit the target dead on. Even I am amazed and shocked. I regain my posture and quickly grab two more daggers chucking them at the same target. *Thunk* *Thunk* Bulls-eyes each time. I've never been one to feel overly confident or smug, but at this moment I do. I let a smirk slide onto my face as I waltz over to the weapon rack. I have one minute left which mean si have to be careful with my section. Instead of a sword I choose the bow and arrow. I only need to take one shot, but one shot could make me or break me. I notch an arrow and pull the string back. This shot could make me or break me. I didn't worry too much though because I already knew what I could do. I pulled the string back fast and let the arrow fly. In a matter of seconds it too had embedded itself right over the dummies heart. I heard the buzzer sound and put the weapon down turning to the Game makers.

"I hope you enjoyed yourselves." I said and bowed to them before leaving. When I walked out Blades partner walked in. Blade saw me and stood up.

"So still want to tell us what you did?" She asks. I look her in the eyes and shrug.

"You'll just have to wait and see." I say and head for our suite. I'm beginning to feel much better about myself.


	12. A Careers Score

**This chapter and the next one might be a bit short. I'm hoping that both of them will be over 1,000 words, but I'm not sure. Now I'm going to wing it with Teena's score because in my opinion Careers should score between an 8-10 and I won't make her score be an 11 or a twelve because (Yes Katniss got an 11) but it's a bit unrealistic to me and Teena isn't supposed to be the best. So if you have a complaint about the score I'm sorry and you can leave it in a review, but I probably won't change it. So I really really hope you like it! Thanks for being amazing people!**

**Chapter 11: A Careers score**

When I got back to the room Cato and Brutus were already sitting on the couch.

"There she is! Hurry and change your clothes! We rest, we eat and then we watch." He said and pumped his fist in the air. For the first time I've been around Brutus he's actually made me laugh. I jog to my room and look through my dresser. I grab a pair of jean shorts, a cami and a black hoodie. I pull the clothes on (After I put on deodorant) and let my hair down. I left my shoes off and ran back into the living room.

"We have a Winner!" Brutus shouted and wrapped his arms around me. Before I could push him away he landed a sloppy kiss on my forehead. I scrunched my nose up and glared at Cato as he burst into laughter.

"What was that about?" I ask and rub my head furiously when Brutus pulls away.

"Enobaria and Bumblebee got here after you did and Brutus declared it a race to see who would get done the fastest." He explained. I rolled my eyes and took a seat across the table from him.

"I was surprised you won honey." It was then that I realized Brutus was slurring his speech. I took a closer look and saw that his eyes were a bit blood shot.

"He's drunk?" I exclaim. Cato looks at me like I'm over reacting.

"Haven't you seen a drunken man before?" He asks.

"Yes, I mean no, I mean how could you let him get drunk?" I ask him and get out of my seat to help a drunken Brutus sit down on the couch.

"I don't need help, Lydia! I'm not old yet." He shouts at me as I lay him down. I look at Cato and tilt my head.

"Who was Lydia?" I ask him as Brutus rambles on about something.

"She was his wife. They met on his victor's tour. She lived in District thirteen. It was a week before their wedding when the district was bombed." I felt tears spring up as I stared at Brutus. I didn't know he had gone through so much.

"That's terrible." I whisper.

"Things happen. Just don't mention it when he comes back around." I nod and take my seat when Enobaria and Bumblebee walk in. They take their seats and we start eating. Tonight we have baked pink carper. It's a very rare fish and I've only had it once before. It was delivered, one to every house, when Cato came back victor. I load it onto my plate and eat every last bit of it including some mashed potatoes.

"Slow down! Jeesh and you tell me that I eat like a pig." Cato says. I mock glare at him and continue to eat _all the fish I WANT!_ Once we're done I carry the dishes into the Kitchen and follow the others over to the couch.

"Ok, Brutus time to sit up." I say in a soothing voice. He whines as I help him up.

"Oh sweet Jesus." In an instant he's up and has disappeared into the bathroom.

"NOSE GOES!" Cato shouts. My hand goes up a second too late and I groan. Even Enobaria and bumblebee touched their noses.

"You people are so childish." I scold them and wait for Brutus. He stumbles out of the bathroom and I catch him before he can face plant.

"You owe me big time." I tell him as we walk to his bedroom. I find it easy enough and get him as far as the bed before my arms give out. I stand there for a few seconds before I lift his feet up and under the covers. As quick as I got him in there I sneak out. I head back into the living room and plop onto the couch.

"You can't be tired after that." Cato asks in amusement.

"Does it look like I have bulging muscles?" I ask him and hold up my arms. He sighs and shakes his head which earns him a slap on the shoulder.

"Did I miss anything?" I look back and see Wolf enter through the door. A smile spreads across my face and I quickly jump up and run into his arms.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world." He said and followed me over to the couch. He took a seat in an arm chair along with Cato's stylist. Enobaria turned on the TV just in time for Caesars face to appear.

**Good evening! Now as you all know the Tributes each had their time with the Game makers today. For those who don't understand out there. Each Tribute gets about six minutes alone with the Game makers to show them their skills. At the end of the day each tribute gets a score between 1 and 12. This is what we are bringing you tonight. Let's get started shall we?**

**District ones Blade with a score of 10 and her partner, Jackson, with a score of 10.**

I look around the room and find every face glued to the Screen. I don't realize I'm leaning left until my cheek touches Cato's shoulder. I feel him shift, but he doesn't move away. I look over and catch Wolf's eye. He smiles and nods to me. I look back towards the TV and catch a glimpse of Brutus leaning against the wall. I knew he wouldn't miss this.

**District two's Cato with a score of 10…**

We all smile and give a smirking Cato his praise. I wrap my arms around his large torso in an attempt to give him a hug. Soon after the room goes silent and we wait.

**And his District partner, Teena, with a score of 8.**

Everyone breaks into applause. I can only image my expression. I feel my eyes go wide and I bring my hand up to cover my mouth which is hanging open. Cato gladly returns the hug I gave him a few seconds ago with a monstrous squeeze.

"Cato…Can't…Breathe." He laughs and lets me go. I stand and let Wolf wrap his arms around me.

"I knew you could do it." He whispers in my ear before letting go. I hear someone clear their through and look up to see Brutus. The room goes silent as I wait for what he has to say.

"I knew you had something in you." He says as a smirk comes onto his face. I can't help it when a smile forms on my lips. I just got a compliment from Brutus. I have fully lived. I walk up and give him a quick hug making sure not to squeeze him too hard.

"I'm glad to see you're feeling better." I say.

"Oh no, I'm still Drunk. I just couldn't miss this." He says before nodding to Cato and heading back to bed. We decide to watch the rest of the scores and only a few stick out to me.

**District four's Sofee with a score of 9 and her District partner, Tug with a score of 7**

And

**District eleven's Cashmere with a score of 10 and his District partner, Whip with a score of 8**

The rest of them were ok, but not something to trouble over.

"Everyone get some sleep." Enobaria said and turned off the TV. We said our goodbyes and I waited afterwards with Cato until everyone had gone to bed.

"About that Balcony?" I say. He smiles and looks around before taking my hand. We head out into the hall, but instead of taking a right to the elevator we take a left. When we get to the end of the Hall the he opens up a secret door. It opens to reveal a staircase and I recognize it as a fire escape. They use to have these back in the old world before the Districts were made. I went first and followed the stairs until they opened up. I was amazed at what I saw. The view was spectacular. The city lights shimmered over the water and the sounds of the city filled my ears. For once the Capitol seemed like a peaceful place.

"I found this the day I left for the victor tour." Cato says and walks over to the ledge. I smile and join him.

"Will you come here before you leave for the victor tour?" I look up at him as he looks down at me.

"No, but I hope you will." He says. I laugh and shake my head. I turn and slide down to the ground.

"I don't think I'll ever come back to this place." I tell him as he seats by me.

"Don't say that." He warns me. I sigh and look at him.

"Why did you volunteer?" I ask him. I'm 100% positive I know the answer, but I want to be sure.


	13. The Balcony from Cato

**Chapter 12: The Balcony from Cato's Point of View**

_"About that Balcony?" She says when everyone has gone to bed. I smile and check to make sure no one is watching before grabbed hold of her hand and towing her into the hallway. I show her the old Staircase that's hidden from view by a trap door. She smiles and walks in following the stairs up. I follow behind her and when we get to the outside she stops dead in her tracks. _

_"I found this the day I left for the victor tour." I tell her and walk around her, over to the railing. I lean against it and stare out at the bright, sparkling city. _

_"Will you come here again before you leave for the victor tour?" She asks me. I feel her eyes on the side of my face and look down to peer into her warm hazel orbs._

_"No, but I hope you will." I tell her. She lets out a mock laugh and turns to take a seat on the floor._

_"I don't think I'll ever come back to this place." She says as I slide down and take a seat next to her. We're close enough that only our shoulders are touching, but it's enough physical contact to remind me of her presence._

_"Don't say that." I warn her because those words coming from her mouth sound wrong. There's a small silence before she breaks it with a single question._

_"Why did you volunteer?" she asks. _

I look at the ground and shrug. I knew she would ask that question. I was just never ready to answer it.

"I think you know why." I say because even a fool could figure it out. I'm not even sure I fooled some of the capitol citizens when I told them I volunteered to bring pride back to our district.

"But I want to hear you say it." She says. I look up and am captured once again by her eyes. The eyes I was captured by the first time I met her because there was something about them that drew me in. tonight for some reason I can't seem to look away from her eyes so I stare into them as I give her my answer.

"I couldn't sit around and watch you fight to the death." She looks at me and sighs like my answers not good enough.

"You would have been fine on your own." She says and I can tell that her voice is faltering.

"No, I wouldn't have. I would have crumbled." I tell her. Without warning she stands.

"We aren't in church." I tease her and try to lighten the mood, but it doesn't work.

"Cato this is serious." She says and turns her back to me. I frown and stand up. I walk behind her and slowly turn her around. Her eyes are red and tears flow down her cheek like a stream.

"What's wrong?" I ask her and wipe away her tears with the pad of my thumbs. She takes a shaky breath and grabs onto my wrists.

"I'm scared Cato." She admits. I quickly wrap her in my arms as she continues to cry.

"It's going to be ok." I assure her even though I know it's a lie. Tomorrow we'll enter into Hell and only one of us will come back. Which means it's my last night alive because I will do everything in my power to bring her back.

"I love you." the words spill out of my mouth and I almost feel her stop breathing. She looks up at me with a confused look.

"What did you say?" She asks me.

"I said I love you." I repeat. For a second I think she's mad, but then she smiles and brings her hand up to hold my cheek. I lean into her touch like it's an instinct.

"You confuse me sometimes." She says and leans forward placing her lips on mine. At first it is nothing, but simply contact until I come to grips with what she has proven to me. I lean in more and pull her up to me. It feels like ages before we have to pull back for oxygen. She smiles and buries her head in my shirt as I hold her tight.

"I love you too." She says. My grip tightens on her and I smile into her hair. I feel my shirt vibrate again and realize she said something.

"What?" I ask her. She pulls back and looks up at me.

"I'm tired Cato." She whispers. I smile and get the clue. I spare one more look over the city before we head back inside. I carefully walk her down the stairs and guide her into the suite. I keep a grip on her elbow making sure she doesn't trip although I end up carrying her bridal style the rest of the way because I'm afraid she'll drop face first. I leave her in her jeans as I lay her down under the covers. From what it looks like she's asleep, but I'm proved wrong when she grabs onto my arm.

"Stay with me tonight." She whispers. I smile and nod.

"I'll be back." I tell her. She nods and turns over with a smile. I quickly head to my room and change into some sweats and a white V-neck before heading back into her room. I close the door behind me to make sure Brutus and Enobaria stay out. I take the right side of the bed and slide in next to her. Her smile grows as she leans her head against my side. I wrap an arm around her shoulders and turn to face her so I can wrap the other one around her waist. I stare at her for a few moments before she peeks out from under her eye lashes.

"What?" She asks me.

"No matter what happens tomorrow…" I'm silenced as her lips fall onto mine again.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is right now." She whispers and turns around so her back is up against my chest.

"Goodnight Cato." I hear her whisper.

"Goodnight Teena." I whisper back before falling asleep myself.

**I hope none of you were offended by the "We aren't in church" joke. just incase let me clarify. A lot of times people make that joke because in church you do a lot of sitting down adn standing up and in the chapter Teena sits and then stand only moments aftert she sits. the first time I heard that joke was in my church adn i thought it fit in. so now that that's been explained i hope you liked it. I've realized that Cato POV's are mostly the soft adn fluffy chapters os thats where you'll see most of the flowers and chocolates. i will have some soft and fluffy Teena POV's though, but not until the middle or close to the end. Thanks for all your great reviews! **

**From, Hop3lessR0mant1c**


	14. The Countdown

**Hey, thanks again to RoseMaple for your amazing reviews. I read your reviews and I can't help, but smile. I'm glad you like it. So here's the next chapter. Thanks for everyone else who has reviewed and turned my story into a favorite. You guys rock!**

**Chapter 13: The Countdown**

I yawned and felt my back crack as I bent backwards, but that wasn't the only thing my back did. When I bent back my shoulders were stopped by something…someone. I slowly turned my head and saw Cato, mouth slightly open and hair in face. Remembering the events of last night brought a smile onto my face as I watched him sleep. His arm was lazily thrown over my hip and his other arm was tucked back behind his head. I slowly turned around to face him making sure I didn't wake him in the process. Just watching him sleep brought back the weird gut feeling I had begun to feel.

**_"I love you too."_**

Had I really said those words? It just felt so….weird. I say that to my siblings and to my parents not to boys. As I was off in my thoughts I felt Cato's arm snake farther around my back and tug me towards him. I let out a faint screech as my face hit his abs.

"Cato?" I mumble through his shirt, but all he does is stir.

"Cato, wake up!" I mumble again, but he still stays sleeping. I roll my eyes and pull my hand out from beside me. I reach up and run my fingers through his messy long hair and slowly he leans into my touch. Seconds later his eyes flutter open and he looks down at me.

"Morning." He says after a giant yawn. I giggle and rest my forehead on his shoulder.

"Good morning." I exclaim. I hear him chuckle and look up at him to see what's so funny.

"I had the best dream last night." He tells me.

"What was it about?" I ask him anxious to hear.

"We were on this balcony and you said that you loved me and then we kissed." He said. I raised my eyebrow up at him in questioning.

"That wasn't a dream." I tell him hesitantly. His face scrunches up in confusion and he nods.

"Yes it was." He argues.

"No I assure you it was not a dream." I say confidently. In seconds his face changes and he looks at me with a mischievous grin.

"Then prove it." He dares me and I accept his challenge. I lean up and cover his lips with mine. Eventually my other hand finds a way into his hair and same with his. When he pulls back from the kiss I almost whine in protest until I feel his lips press against the skin of my neck. I've never kissed anyone like this, but it feels good. He rolls us over so he's hovering above me and pulls away to land another kiss on my lips. As soon as it started it ends because there's a banging on my door.

"Who…" My voice is eight octaves higher and I quickly clear my throat. (How embarrassing!)

"Who is it?" I ask.

"It's Bumblebee. Have you seen Cato dear?" She asks. Both Cato and I share a look off complete "We're in deep crap." He push's off the bed and tugs me to my feet in one swift movement. I look around my room before deciding to shove him into my bathroom. I shut the door and fix myself up before opening the door.

"Sorry, but I haven't seen him around." I tell her. She looks at me and seems to buy it.

"Well I'll leave it to Brutus then. Now let's find your clothes." She says and pushes past me into the room. She heads for the closet while I run to stand in front of the bathroom door.

"I wonder where they are." She whispers to herself and walks over to me.

"Move aside dear." She says and tries to step past me, but I block her.

"It's really messy in there." I come up with an excuse. She just shrugs and forces me to move anyway. I hold my breath as she push's the door open, but Cato's not there. I let out a sigh of relief as she finds the clothes and brings them back out.

"Just get dressed in this and if you see Cato tell him his clothes are waiting." I nod and smile as she walks back out the door. I close it behind her and quickly walk into the bathroom.

"Cato?" I whisper. I'm scared half to death when he steps out from behind the shower curtain.

"Maybe you should get dressed." I suggest. He smiles and swoops me in for one more kiss before sneaking out. I re-lock my door and take one more shower making sure to use my favorite lemon soap. When I'm done I dry off and change into my clothes. I wear a black sports bra and black underwear. My outfit consists of black spandex shorts, a black cami, a white V-neck and some tan swamp green army pants. I decided to pull my hair up into a bun so it's out of my face and then pull on my combat boots. I look at myself in the mirror one last time and take a deep breath. I wonder what they'll dress me in when I'm gone. I push the thought out of my head and make my way into the living room. Enobaria is there waiting for me and she stands up when I come in. She quickly wraps her arms around me and we stand there.

"I'm going to miss you." I tell her. I'm not crying yet and I don't expect to see a tear from her.

"And I'm going to miss you. Remember that survival is your number one concern." She says. I smile and nod.

"Remember me like a daughter." I tell her. She looks at me and is about to protest, but she decides against it either because she knows I'm right or because she doesn't want an argument.

"You already are a daughter to me, Teena." She says and gives me one last squeeze before she steps back. Soon enough Brutus and Cato come join us and while Cato hugs Enobaria I turn to Brutus.

"Are you proud?" I ask him. I see a hint of a grin and he nods.

"Couldn't be prouder, princess." I smile and give him a hug which he returns. There's a knock on the door and I step back from him. Bumblebee gets opens it to reveal two peace keepers waiting.

"We're ready." They inform. I look back at Enobaria and Brutus before following Cato. I stop before I exit completely and take Bumblebee by surprise as I wrap my arms around her.

"Believe it or not I'll miss you too." I joke. I hear her shrill laugh and try to capture it.

"I'll miss you too, deary." She says. I smile and step back before heading off down the hall. The Peacekeepers flank us as we head for the launch room and when we're a hallway away more join. Cato looks at me before turning right, flanked by four peacekeepers and I return his nod before turning left. When we reach my room they open the door for me and let me in before closing it. Wolf is already standing with his arms out and I walk into them without hesitation. That's when I start to feel the anxiety, the nausea, the guilt, the hate. All my words become stuck in my throat and I find myself having a very hard time breathing. When Wolf pulls back from me I notice that I'm shaking. He grabs some boots off the table and hands them to me.

"Put these on. They'll feel better in the long run." He says. I nod and sit on the table. I slide my combat boots on and tug these new ones on. They did feel better than my combat boots. Next he reaches behind and grabs a thick jacket. I turn and let him slide it onto my shoulders. He grabs my hand and slides it into my pocket where I find something. I pull it out to find my sisters bead necklace. I feel the tears start to fall as I put it back into the pocket.

**20 seconds till launch**

The voice rings through the room and every feeling I have intensifies.

"I'll miss you." I tell him. He looks at me and bends down to give my hand a kiss.

"And I will miss you." He says. I give him a sad smile and turn towards the Pod that will take me to my death.

**10 seconds till launch**

I take a deep breath and slowly walk towards the pod. I don't want to do this. Why did it have to be my name? I wonder what Cato is thinking? Is he already in his pod with a smirk on his face or does he feel the same disgust I do?

**8 seconds**

I stop right before the pods door. I guess I'm trying to stall this, but I know that's impossible.

**6 seconds**

I take the last step that brings me to stand in the glass. Pod I look up and all I see is bright light. What waits for me? Is it going to be a desert or a forest like it was last year? Is it going to be a water land or a land of fire?

**4 seconds**

I slowly turn around and make eye contact with Wolf.

"Until next time." He says. I don't smile, but I nod.

"Thank you." I say because it's all I can manage. The glass door slides shut and I develop claustrophobia. I feel a jolt and watch as Wolf slowly disappears. His face is replaced by a flashing light and I cringe. My eyes blink a few times before my eyes adjust. The first thing I spot is the cornucopia. I notice all the tributes are up and circling around it. After that I start to see the big details. The cornucopia is not made of Metal like last year, but it's made with Branches. The branches of a…tree. No I'm not an idiot I mean that the cornucopia is actual forming from the intertwined branches of a tree. I look down and realize what is land is leaves. We aren't on the ground we're in a tree.

**30 seconds**

I look around the tributes and spot Blade standing a few places to my right. She already has her stance and her eyes target a pack of vicious looking daggers. Cato is about 9 places from my left and he's also in his stance only his eyes target a sword that sits against the side of the cornucopia. He looks up and catches my eye. He nods to me and paints to the cornucopia while he mouths something that I can't make out. It takes me a few more times to realize what he's saying. He's telling me to take a deep breath and run to the cornucopia. At first I think he's crazy, but then it makes sense. I'm a career, I got a careers score. If I can make it into the cornucopia alive I'll have five other people to watch my back. I nod to him and turn to look into the cornucopia. I don't know if it's a sick coincidence or if it was planned, but I spot a silver bow and arrow, right next to Cato's sword.

**20 seconds**

I reach down and slide my hand into my pocket. I grip my sister's necklace for dear life. I wonder what they're doing. Trexlers is probably outside. I wouldn't expect him to be watching and I wouldn't want him to. Mom probably has Marigold in her bed and bead is probably glued to the TV. Did they notice the silent words I shared with Cato? What will he tell them about what happened between us when he goes home a victor? I look up to the sky and hope that there is a camera somewhere as I silently mouth their names.

**10 seconds**

Trexler

**9 seconds**

Marigold

**8 seconds**

Bead

**7 seconds**

Mom take care of them

**6 seconds**

Dad be patient with them

**5...4…3…2…1**

I love you


	15. Let the Games Begin

**Hey peeps! Another big thanks to RoseMaple and a thanks goes out to Spitfyre20 for a great review! Thanks to all of you thought. Like always your reviews are great which means i really try to write things that you'll like. Now I'm fishing for compliments, but i've never been good at writing blood baths for the hunger games so I actually had to re-do this chapter. I hope you guys like it and if there was something that could have been better I would love to hear it. Thanks again for everything!**

**Chapter 14: Let the Games Begin**

Chaos. The scene before me could only be described as complete and utter chaos. The sharp blade of a sword or a spear was met by the scream of pain and blood. There was so much blood. It leaked from its victims and pooled on the waxy surface of the leaves. I stood frozen on my podium. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get my legs to work. I knew this would happen. Once we were released every nerve in my body froze. Every noise is muffled and my heart is pounding inside my head.

"Teena!" The voice sounds a like it's a thousand miles away. I turn my head and release that's definitely not the case. My head snaps back and the air leaves my lungs as Cato full on tackles me to the ground. We land hard and go rolling to the side just as the podium I was standing on drops from the canopy. I lay there trying to catch my breath, but Cato wastes no time in hauling me to my feet.

"Come on!" He shouts above the screams and literally drags me behind him. I trip a few times, but manage to stay on my feet. I dodge thrown objects and people that get in my way as we head for the cornucopia. We're close, but not close enough. Cashmere, the boy from eleven jumps in front of Cato and swings his sword. Cato ducks and meets his attack head on. The two boys clash and I stand there like an idiot.

"Teena get to the cornucopia!" Cato yells at me and ducks another swing. I nod and swerve around the boys only to have Cashmere turn and strike in my direction. I scream (Like any girl would do) and duck underneath it. He brings it around again, but Cato is ready and blocks it.

"GO!" He shouts at me again and this time I full on sprint. When I reach the Cornucopia I look around for something, anything. I find my weapon in the very back of the cornucopia. A beautiful golden bow with a black quiver full of golden tipped arrows. I hurry and strap the quiver onto my back and as I hook the bow over my shoulder I spot a set of daggers. I lift them up and immediately the memory of training with Blade comes to mind.

_The dagger leaves my hand and in a second I hear the thud of the impact. I look and smile when I find the handle sticking out of the dummies abdomen. I know it's still not the best shot, but it's enough to kill someone in a matter of hours, maybe even minutes if you hit an organ._

_"Not bad Two. I would suggest you grab a dagger in the arena, but they're mine so don't." she says with a wicked smile._

_"I never caught your name." She looks at me and grabs another handful of daggers._

_"I'm Blade." I nod and start to walk away when she calls my name again._

_"Oh and Teena!" I turn and look at her._

_"That wasn't a warning." She says. I watch as she throws her next dagger and it hits a dummy square in the throat. Fake red blood gushes from the site indicating that it was a instantly fatal shot and I understand what she meant. The clue to stay away from the daggers in the arena wasn't just a warning…it was a threat._

I strap the set of daggers around my waist and pick up a few backpacks for the heck of it. I run back to the mouth of the cornucopia after I'm done. The fighting is still intense as tributes try to get their hands on anything that's left. I spot Cato to my right and take one step before realizing that to get to him I have to get past a crazy blonde who's wielding an axe. I also realize that every tribute left is going to make a run for whatever weapon there is left. Each scenario could end my life and each could protect it. Decisions, decisions! After a long hard process that involved multiple questions and curse words I decide to go with Blonde.

"I wish you were here Brutus." I whisper before taking off. The girl spots me in no time and turns towards me with her sword raised and a snake like smile. All too soon her smile faltered as I continued to run at her. We were only three feet apart when my plan kicked into action. I used one of the metal containers to push myself into the air. Her Blade come down across empty air as I jumped over it and landed on the ground completing a series of summersaults. She let out a howl of rage as she turned and charged me.

"Great choice, Teena." I told myself and got to my feet only to have her knock me down again. I pushed her off of me and stood as she threw a punch my way. I side stepped and swung one of the packs her way. It hit her right in the jaw and she went flying back. She landed hard on her back, but managed to swipe my feet from under me. As I landed I felt something wet on my neck. I reached my hand back and when I brought it back around it was covered in blood. I gulped and got up wiping my neck with both my hands. The blonde was still lying on her back in pain as she stared at the sky. I backed away from her and ran the rest of the way to Cato who started to panic when he saw the blood.

"Cato calm down! Cato it's not mine!" I assured him. He took a deep breath and nodded.

"Did you?" He asked. He was asking if I had killed someone and I shook my head in response.

"Everyone's gone. They got out of here as fast as they could." Sofee the girl from four said as she jogged over. She instantly eyed the packs in my hand and I handed her. She nodded towards me and grabbed it slinging it over her shoulder. I look back up at Cato and notice that his expression has changed. His soft features have been traded in for the smirk. Once all the careers start to regroup he turns back towards me.

"What the hell happened out there Teena?" He asks me. I'm a bit taken back by the question, but I know he has to ask.

"My legs froze. It won't happen again." I assure him.

"Good it better not." His tone is harsh and scolding, but I ignore it because I know he's only putting on an act. I don't like it, but I'll have to get used to it.

"Did you make yourself useful Two?" Tug the boy from four asks.

"I grabbed some packs." I tell him and throw him one. He catches it easily and begins to look through it as I throw one to each of the others. I save one for myself and put it on the same shoulder as my quiver.

"We need to get off the canopy." Cato says. All of us agree…except for Jackson.

"I think we should stay. It's safe up here." He argues. Cato grips his sword as he glares at Jackson.

"Safe until the Game makers throw us off." Cato says. Jackson glares at Cato and takes a step forward. Cato doesn't hesitate to meet his challenge and steps forward as well as if daring Jackson to make another move. The tension in the air is enough to make me feel like I'm being choked as the two boys have their stare down. After at least five minutes Jackson lowers his eyes and steps back. I had always wondered how leaders were decided among careers and now I know. From the moment Jackson steps back into the group its obvious Cato is now the head career. This is a good thing and a bad thing. From the look on Jacksons face Cato has made his first enemy. At the same time With Cato being head career that means things just got a bit easier for me when it comes to watching my back.

"How do we get down from here?" Blade asks.

"How did the others get down?" Cato asks her. She shrugs and while they argue over how to get down something catches my eye. I walk over to the edge of the canopy and notice thick green vines hanging from taller trees.

"Cato, I think I found our solution." I shouted over to him. They all looked over at me and came over to my side. I pointed to the vines and Cato smirked.

"Good job Teena." He said and patted me on the back.

"Move over." Blade said and took a running leap. She grabbed onto one of the vines and began to slide down. Jackson followed her and next was Sofee and her partner Tug. Once everyone was on their way down Cato took a step back and jumped across the open space. He grabbed onto a vine and began the climb down when he stopped and looked up at me. He held out his hand and raised an eyebrow at me. I took a few steps back and made a running start like the others. The adrenaline that rushed through me was mind blowing. Cato caught my hand and used my momentum to swing me onto a lower vine. I clutched to it and used my feet to slide down. I made sure not to use my bare hands because I think they would have burned off if I did. Once on the ground with everyone else we grouped back up. The jungle ground was moist and covered with leaves. It was Farley dark below the canopy, but clear enough that I could still see.

"We should put a little distance between us and the cornucopia. Last year the game makers let us stay, but this year the arenas bigger." Cato said.

"Why does that make a difference?" Tug asks.

"The farther we are apart the less fighting there is. They'll want to drive us closer to each other and their first attempt may be tonight." After Cato explained there was no argument. Jackson didn't even make a move. It was either deal with Cato or deal with the Game makers and neither of them were a good option. So we huddled together and made our way deeper into the forest. Cato was in front and Jackson trailed right behind him. Sofee and Tug walked side by side as did Blade and I. I took off my Bow just in case something unexpected happened. As I did so my hand brushed against the set of Daggers. I had forgotten all about them. I unhooked them from around my waist and held them up.

"Blade, I grabbed these for you." She looked my way as I tossed the set to her. She grabbed them out of the air and as she looked over them something flashed in her eyes. She looked back up at me as she strapped them to her waist.

"Let the games begin." She said as we continued through the jungle.


	16. Back in District 2: Trexlers Perspective

**Hello my wonderful readers! Glad you're back for more! Wanted to get something up so I labored for you guys (just kidding!) I almost forgot what it felt like to update my stories! hey I hope you guys like it and I will hopefully see you guys at the next chapter! Got any ideas or helpful critism just leave it in a review or PM me! Love ya'll!**

**From, Hop3lessR0mant1c**

**Chapter 15: Back in District 2**

"Trexler, dinners ready." My mother called. I didn't move from my spot in front of the projector though. When Teena was reaped our parents decided that one of them should stay home. My mom, being the motherly one, stayed home with us while dad went back out. Without Teena the house was always quiet and lonely. It felt harder to get things done because she always found a way to make the hard things fun. My mom came out into the small family room and set a wooden bowl of soup in front of me. The silence in the room was terrible and as Teena came onto the screen the tension only grew. My mother took a seat beside me and we both watched as it zoomed in on her. It was the first night they were in the arena. The small fire the careers had going cast a glow on her face as she slept. Cato spectral sat across from her keeping watch or that's what people would think. The only thing he was watching was my sister. I didn't like how he looked at her and I didn't want to trust him, but he had technically saved her life in the Blood bath which makes me feel the slightest bit better.

"She's sleeping. You can at least come and eat dinner with all of us." My mom whispers. I look over at her and notice the dark bags under her eyes. She's been going out into public, smiling and laughing as if she's ok, but I can see past her act. At night she comes out into the family room and paces back and forth. She hardly sleeps and she hardly eats. She covers up her troubles with home-made makeup and loose clothing.

"Something could happen while I'm gone." I tell her and look back to the projection. She sighs and puts her hand on my knee in an act of comfort.

"Call me if you need anything." She says and slowly stands up. She walks back into the small kitchen and all I hear is the clanging of silver wear. I look down at the soup she put before me and frown. Food has become minimal. The first soup we made was thick potato soup, and now we're down to a thin chicken broth and a few vegetables. Dad sends letters once in a while. He tells us that he's watching the Games and that business is good. He's lying to help us, to help mom. It's almost sick how our lives have declined. I barley go outside, but when I do it's to get fresh air. I've only gone out a few times and once was because Bead and mom got into a fight. Bead has become someone else. She verbally beats herself up. She complains that mom gets the wrong clothes and doesn't get the tangles out of her hair. Finally mom had had enough. I remember sitting in my room with Marigold and listening to them scream.

_"Mom you can't get anything right!" Bead yelled._

_"I don't see what's wrong! You look fine!" Mom yelled back. I heard thumping and knew that Bead was in full tantrum mode._

_"None of these clothes make me look good! My hair is always in tangles." Bead complained._

_"I'm your mother young lady!" Mom yelled at her._

_"But you can't do anything right because you're not Teena!" Bead screamed and ran from the room. I ignored her as she ran past my room._

_"I know I'm not, but I'm trying! I'm trying!" Mom yelled. The tension in the air was choking me and I couldn't stand to hear the silent cries of my mother. I hopped off my bed and headed outside. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. It was like nothing bad was happening. It was as if my sister wasn't fighting to the death._

I ate my soup as I continued to watch the projector. The fake sky lite up as the anthem began to play. No one paid attention to it. The loud music didn't even wake Teena up and that made me laugh. She always was a deep sleeper. Cato took his eyes off of her and looked up into the sky. Not one emotion crossed his face as the faces of the dead flashed by. When I t was over he grabbed a stick and threw it at Tug, the boy by Teena. He woke with a start and glared at Cato who just shrugged.

"It's your turn to keep watch." He said and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. Tug muttered some incoherent words under his breath and grabbed his short spear. He left it on his lap as he stared into the fire. I hate Tug even more than I hate Cato. Even the spear in his lap was enough to make my muscles tense. Suddenly the screen brightened and Caesars face came up. That's when I felt another hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Bead and Marigold.

"Mom says it's time for bed." She says. I shrug and look back at the screen, but Bead shakes my shoulder. I look back up at her and I'm about to say something when she cuts me off.

"I know it's hard. I wish she was here to and I wish I could watch every minute of it, but I always remind myself that she'll be there when I get up in the morning." I take her words into consideration and finally nod. I stand and a sleepy Marigold instinctively holds out her arms. A small smile lights my face as I pick her up and she buries her head in my short hair. Bead leads the way as we head to our rooms. I help her tuck Marigold into bed and then bid her goodnight. I get to my room and change into my night clothes. I crawl into bed and look up at the wooden ceiling.

"Goodnight Teena." I whisper and then let my eyes close.


	17. Old Memories: Catos Perspective

**So i didnt have a lot of things to write about for this chapter, but i knew i wanted to do something with Cato. I don't want to say to much before you read it so i'll see you at the end of the chapter.**

**Chapter 16: Old memories**

We had been walking for about ten minutes, but it felt like hours. The forest was thick and sounds of animals filled the air, but I hadn't spotted one animal so far. The fact that I hadn't seen any animals made me tense up. Animals that are heard, but stay hidden from view are the most deadly. Finally we walked into a small clearing surrounded by thick brush. I decided it would be enough protection for the first night in the arena.

"We'll stop here and then continue on tomorrow." I said. We all dropped our packs to the ground and spread out. I stuck my sword into the ground and cracked my knuckles. Jackson and tug loosened up their necks and the girl's stretched out. Well except for Teena who dropped to the ground and leaned back against a tree trunk.

"We need to get a fire going." I said. I remembered when I was training in the academy and did Hunger Game simulations. We once did a jungle themed simulation and I remember it got up to 100 degrees during the day and about 30 degrees at night. Sofee finished her stretching and shrugged.

"I'll do it." She offers and grabs an axe before disappearing through the vines. I found a tree trunk across from Teena and sat down. I have to admit that it felt good to rest my feet. As I ran my fingers over the blade of my sword I would look up at Teena. We would make eye contact once or twice, but we never exchanged a smile. The one thought that kept terrorizing my mind was that I wouldn't be able to show her affection. I knew that there were cameras everywhere. There were some moments last year that I never thought they caught that they did. Plus I knew Brutus would throw a tantrum if I did anything stupid and Enobaria would kill me if I put Teena in harm's way. I almost laughed at the thought of Enobaria yelling at me from the living room to make sure she was ok. I fought to keep a smile of my face and when Sofee came back it gave me something to focus on other than Teena. She dropped a bunch of dry vines and sticks into the center of the small clearing and took no time in getting the fire going. The flames flickered and we all sighed as the heat wrapped around us. Soon the sky grew dark and everyone slowly relaxed and began to fade. Teena was probably the second or third to fade. Even with the fire I could still feel the chill of the night and I wanted so badly to stay beside Teena. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and keep her as warm as I could, but I knew I couldn't.

"I'll take the first sift." I told them. They all nodded and settled in for the night. As they drifted into sleep I let my thoughts wander. I had mixed feelings about Tug and Jackson. Jackson seemed all too eager to challenge me. I could tell he wanted nothing more than to be leader of the career pack and I would have actually let him. I got my share last year and sometimes it made you want to rip your hair out, but with Teena in the group it was too risky. If they all decided to get rid of her I wouldn't be able to stop them unless I was leader. So I took the spot as head before anyone else could and made sure Jackson knew I wouldn't give it up so easily. Now Tug was a different story. It wasn't that he was a threat. He was dangerous and skilled, but he didn't come as a threat to me. The only tension that grew between us was I didn't like how close he got to Teena. I may be over reacting, but I've seen the look he gave her before. I recognize it because I had it once. I was and still am a guy that women would throw themselves at and Tug looks like the kind of guy that hooked up with a different girl every week. It's not our fault it's our instinct. We see a pretty girl and launch ourselves at her. We're the kind of guys that like to feel powerful and the effect we have on women only feeds that fire. Of course I wasn't that type of guy now. I had found Teena and for the first time I only wanted to help her. I looked up from the fire and stared at her. Under the lite she was beautiful. It was almost ironic how beautiful she looked after she had just entered into Hell on earth. A small bean of moonlight shone through the canopy and fell upon her face. It made her tan skin look pale and the added effect of the fires glow gave her the look of a Goddess. Her eyes twitched and fidgeted underneath her eyelids and I wandered what she could be dreaming of. I was distracted as Panems seal was projected onto the holographic night sky. The faces of the dead flashed through the sky as the anthem played. The only feeling I had was a feeling of annoyance. I hated the Nations anthem from the first time I heard it. Couldn't they have chosen something catchier instead of the boring, slow music they choose? When the sky became dark again I turned my head and yawned. I reached over and grabbed a stick off the ground. I chucked it at Tug and he woke up with a snort and a jump. He rubbed his eyes and looked over in my direction. When he saw me his eyes narrowed just a bit, but I ignored it.

"It's your turn to keep watch." I told him. He nodded and I leaned my head back against the trunk of the tree. It felt good to close my eyes and once again I let my thoughts wander back to old memories.

_I sat at home and was looking out the window waiting for her to come by. I noticed her a week after I moved in. This girl would go around the houses and deliver something to the people here. I anticipated her every day and would watch out my window just to see her smiling face walk by. Finally I spotted her walking down my side of the street. Today she was wearing a baby pink knitted dress. Her hair was in a high pony tail and she had that smile on her face. As she was walking by the house she stumbled on a rock and fell forward. I don't know what I was thinking when I got up and jogged outside to help her. I hadn't even left the house since I moved in. I bent down and looped my hands under her arms. I pulled her up and was surprised at how light she was._

_"Thank…you, um thank you so much." She stuttered a bit when she saw me, but then smiled. She looked down at the cut and it began to bleed. The skin was cut pretty bad and the blood just began to run down her leg._

_"You should get that taken care of." I told her. I cringed at the sound of my own voice. I hadn't heard it except for inside my own head. She sighed and shook her head._

_"It'll be fine." She said._

_"It could get infected." I told her. She looked up at me and her eyes told me what I could have guessed. _

_"I have medicine for infections inside. Let me take care of it." She gives me a questioning look before nodding. I take her basket and help her inside keeping on hand on her back to make sure she doesn't fall. Once inside I help her into a chair and get the medicine from the bathroom cabinet. When I came back out she had gotten a paper towel and was holding it over her leg._

_"I didn't want to get blood on anything." She said. I chuckled and took the paper towel off. I unscrewed the cap on the medicine and got some on my fingers. I spread it over the cut and she let out a hiss. I let her get use to the burn before wrapping it up. After I was done I put the medicine aside._

_"Thank you; I'm Teena by the way." She said and held out her hand. I smiled and shook it._

_"Nice to meet you. I'm Cato Spectral." She blushed and looked down at the ground before looking back up at me. I smiled for the first time since the games and just stared at her._

I loved old memories.

**hey guys I hope you liked it. So I realized that I only gave you the idea of how Cato and Teena met, but I thought maybe I should explain it a little better. So I decided to give you a glimpse into the whirl wind of a relationship that is Cato and Teena! Hope you liked it and can't wait for your wonderful reviews! My nerves are already tingling with anticipation! haha! See you guys later! Stay true!**

**From, hop3lessR0mant1c**


	18. Authors note 2

**Hey guys! I saw your amazing reviews and loved them! I'm really glad you liked it, they made my day :) So I was reading the story just to see how it played out and if it was going in the right direction adn was wondering if I should change the summary. the one i have now is ok, but i had just thrown it together when I first put the story up. The problem is that i have no idea what to say that would seem alluring to other readers. I was wondering if you guys had any ideas. I would absolutly love it if my summary was made by my amazing fans. I think it would be cool and i wouldnt be able to pick just one so i would find a way to put them together. I'm juts never good with summaries and i read some of your and they're amazing. Thanks for reading and if you have any ideas you can review or PM me! See you guys in the next chapter! **

**From, Hop3lessr0mant1c**


	19. Making Camp

**A HUGE THANK YOU TO ROSEMAPLE! I had asked for help with the summary and i never expected to get something like she gave me. It's amazing and she suggested i re-do the title and i loved hers so much that i had to use it so thank you! a thanks to all my wonderful fans and reviewers! It's amazing to have people like you out there! I hope you enjoy and i'll see you guys next chapter!**

**Chapter 17: Making Camp**

"Get up. We need to move." I heard from above me. My eyes opened and my safe haven disappeared. Little sun beams shined through the canopy and I heard the different animal calls ring through the jungle. I saw someone pass me and looked up to see everyone was up and moving around. Our fire was nothing more than a pile of greyed ashes and dirt. I begin to feel a bit awkward because I'm the only one on the ground so I quickly stand up and stretch. I sigh as my back pops (A tree isn't the most comfortable thing to sleep on), and then look over at Cato. His hair is messy and his eyes look sleepy, but he doesn't seem the least bit tired.

"What are we doing?" I ask him. He looks up at me and something flashes in his eyes.

"We need to find a better place to camp out." He says before walking over to me. I raise my eyebrow at him as he reaches his hand up. He uses the pad of his thumb and wipes it across my cheek leaving a trail of tingles.

"You had something on your cheek." He explains. I look at his hair and reach my hands up. I run my fingers through his hair and fix the tips of it so it's out of his eyes and then lay my hands back down at my sides.

"You're hair wasn't the prettiest." I say with a smirk. He shrugs and heads over to grab his sword from the ground. The small tingles are fading, but the butterflies in my stomach only become stronger. That was the first sign of affection, even interaction, that he had shown me since he saved me at the blood bath.

"So what's wrong with this place?" I question him as I strap my quiver to my back. The place we had now seemed to be covered from wandering eyes and fangs. Cato holds his sword as he tries to find a way to strap it onto him as he answers.

"It's not secure and it's too small for all of us." I didn't need any more explanation. Six careers in a small space is a path for disaster, but I still disagreed about it being unsecure. Cato was still fiddling around with his sword and for some reason it was starting to drive me crazy. I walked over and grabbed the sword from his hands. He shot me a glare, but I ignored him and walked over to some hanging vines. I used the sword to cut one off and then handed the sword back to Cato. He watched me with curious eyes as I twisted and looped and tugged at the vine. When I was done I lifted Cato arms and wrapped it around his waist. I made sure it was tight enough to stay on his waist, but loose enough that he doesn't stop breathing. I then tied it in a knot and made sure my small surgeon's knot was off to the side. I then took Cato's sword and put it through the surgeon's knot. In simpler words I had made a sheath for Cato.

"Nice knots." He said. I nodded and headed back to grab my bow. I was bending down to get it when someone reached down and got it first. I shot up and was about to argue when I went silent. I was pretty much nose to nose with Tug. I cleared my throat and backed up as he just smirked.

"Thought I would help." He says and hands me the bow. I smile and sling it over my shoulder so it's easy to get too.

"Well, thank you." I say.

"Let's go." Cato says and heads out into the jungle. I follow Blade while Jackson and Tug follow behind all of us.

"Having fun?" Blade asks with a smirk. I roll my eyes and shake my head.

"Nothing like fighting to the death in an arena with mutts." I joke which pulls a snicker from both of us and even a small chuckle from the guys. As we walk I start to notice things I hadn't. Certain smells fill my senses, like sweet aromas from exotic plants and the smell of damp leaves. There is one other smell that sticks out to me. It's a musky aroma something you would get from an animal….and it's close. I look around us, but I see nothing. I push the thought out of my head as we continue. We help each other over giant branches and under hanging leaves and vines. I've fallen to the back of the pack and Jackson has taken my place by Blade which means I am now by Tug…perfect.

"So what did you do back in two?" He asks trying to start a conversation. I open my mouth to tell him I sold jewelry, re-think my truthful strategy. I just don't think telling a career that I was poor and sold jewelry would help my case.

"I trained at the Academy during the week and helped out at the borders on off days." I lied.

"Impressive, but to be expected from a strong girl like you." He complimented. I looked at him and smiled, but inside I was a little freaked out. I thought Tug was just trying to be nice, but it was taking a different turn and it happened to be over heard. I looked ahead and noticed a set of ice blue eyes looking back at us.

"Teena?" I tore my eyes away from his gaze and looked back over at Tug. He was giving me a funny look and that's when I realized he had said something.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I ask him.

"I was asking if you had anyone special back at home." I looked at him and I felt my mouth open and close like a fish out of water.

"I, um, kind of I guess….I don't really know." I told him and even though his smile faltered a bit his attitude didn't change.

"I'm sure there's some….."

"I think Cato wants me up here. Sorry it was nice talking to you." I cut him off and rushed up to the front by Cato. No matter what obstacles we came across I tried my best to stay by his side or at least away from Tug. I knew that I didn't want Tug to think he had a chance with me, but I especially didn't want any more tension with romance.

"I think there's something up ahead." Cato told the others and pulled out his sword just in case. I looked ahead and saw a light filtering through the trees. As we got even closer I heard something else.

"I think there's water." I told Cato and started to jog forward. I pulled out my bow and had an arrow notched before I slide through the foliage. I stood there for a minute in pure shock. The place was beautiful. A small river ran through and tropical plants covered the place. It was a little oasis and it was perfect. Everyone else joined me soon after and all of them where amazed to.

"Let's make camp." Cato declared and we instantly got to work. The area was big and the River split it in two so Cato and I got one side while Sofee, Tug, Jackson, and Blade got the other. The tents were big enough for two tributes to squeeze in, but we each had our own. They were made of black nylon so it as sturdy material, but even after we put them up they started to get hot so we wouldn't be able to stay in them long during the day. The sun was about halfway through the sky so it was close to noon and it was started to get really hot.

"God it's getting hot." Bladed says and throws off her jacket. I follow her example and gladly through off my jacket. What's left of the cold air from last night hits my arms and I sigh in content, but even taking my jacket off isn't enough so I pull of my white V-neck and am left in only my black Cami.

"We should ration out our food." Jackson suggests. Cato looks at him and nods. We all grab our packs and make a tight circle. We dump everything in the middle and start to sort it out. In the end we have 6 canteens, 3 pocket knives, 5 ropes, 6 bags of Jerky, 6 bags of dried fruit, 6 packs of matches, and 6 flash lights.

"I'll fill the canteens." I say and grab them from the middle. I crawl over to the Small stream and empty the original water. I dip each of them in one at a time and fill them to the top before I pull them out and put the caps back on. Once all of them are filled I carry them back to everyone and hand them out. Tug quickly unscrews the cap and is about to take a drink when Jackson pulls the canteen out of his hands.

"It might be poisonous. Someone should try it first." He says and looks right at Cato as he says it. Cato just shrugs and unscrews his cap. My eyes go wide and as he's about to take a drink I unscrew my cap and gulp down the water. Everyone turns to me and we wait to see if anything happens. The whole time I'm sitting there with the canteen in my lap praying that nothing happens. I would hate it if I had made it past he blood bath only to die from poisonous water. After a few minutes nothing happens and I don't feel any different so we decided the water is safe to drink. Everyone, including me, gulps down there water and some of us even have to go back and refill. The cold water just feels so good running down my dry throat that I take some of it and pour it on my shoulders.

"A cheers to the games!" Tug announces out of silliness. I didn't know it was possible to get drunk on water until now because all of us are so full of it that our stomachs actually hurt. Everyone smiles; even Cato and Jackson, and we lift our canteens in the air before drinking some more of the cool water.

"Everyone re-fill and save your energy. Tonight we go tribute hunting.


	20. Tribute Hunting

**Hey! Thanks for all your great reviews! So as we all know careers always go tribute hunting so I had to have this chapter. I will admit that it is not the best, but I think it's pretty good if i do say so myself. I also decided to add a little twist, but i'm not going to tell you anything. You'll have to read to find out! Hope you enjoy it and can't wait to see you next chapter!**

**From, Hop3lessR0mant1c**

**Chapter 18: Tribute Hunting**

I lay by the streams side and let my hand rest beneath the water. After Cato had told us we would be going tribute hunting we had spread out and just closed our eyes. Tug was resting against a tree trunk; Jackson had disappeared into his tent even though it had to be at least a hundred degrees, blade was laying down only a few feet from chucking her daggers up in the air and then catching them, and Cato was sitting by our tent just staring at his unsheathed sword. I sighed and looked back up at the patch of blue sky that was visible through the canopy. A little after noon we had each taken a slice of jerky and a piece of dried fruit to snack on and now the sky was beginning to darken. It still holds its sky blue, but there were tints of dark blues and pinks. If I wasn't in a living hell I would call this place heaven. I would bring Trexler and Marigold and Bead her to share in its beauty and to hear the sounds of birds. I would be able to sleep in Cato's arms every night and not have to worry about going tribute hunting. I scoffed and rolled my eyes. I was only kidding myself.

"Grab another piece of Jerky and fruit. We leave in a few minutes." Cato's voice cuts through the silence. I push myself up in a sitting position and then all the way up onto my feet. I walk over a grab a bag of Jerky and a bag of fruit. I open the bags and throw a piece of each to everyone before grabbing my own. I re-zip the bags and bite of a piece of the fruit. It's not the tastiest thing I've ever had in my life, but it's enough to keep me full until I need another piece. I will always prefer fresh fruit over dried fruit any day. Now the Jerky is better. I can't tell what type of meat it is, but it's good and it always tastes fresh. It's not greasy and it smells quite good as well. I nibble on it for a while before sticking the left overs in my pocket. I grab my bow and strap the quiver onto my back.

"Let's head down stream." Cato says and we start walking. We put some distance between us and the stream, but keep it in our sight. I look over at Blade and motion towards the stream.

"Where there's water there are tributes." She explains.

"And when we find tributes?" I ask her. I know it's a dumb question, but she just shrugs and answers.

"We have our fun and then kill them." She says. I frown and look to the ground. I remember last gams when they found the girl from 7. It was terrible and they didn't even kill her. That kid Peeta had to go back, but I was silently thanking him for volunteering. At least he showed the girl mercy. A little bit further upstream we found that it branched out. Cato jumped across and helped me over next. We go everyone else over and continued upstream. We had walked for probably a good 20 minutes when I spotted a glow up ahead. I wasn't the only one who spotted it because blade let out a snicker.

"Target acquired." Jackson joked and began to jog forward. I was hesitant, but followed them. We slowed to a jog when we were about 10 feet away and everyone pulled out their weapons. I notched and arrow and held my bow close to me as we inched forwards. When we were basically on top of them I could see a girl tribute sitting by the fire. She was looking down at it and I could have sworn she was a fake. Cato purposely stopped on a stick and her head snapped towards us. Once she saw us she began to panic. All of them laughed at her terrified expression as they circled her. She crawled backwards only to bump into Tug. She let out a scream as he grabbed her hair and through her back into the middle.

"Poor baby are you all alone?" Jackson cooed as if he was taking to a two year old. She didn't answer as she looked around for a way out.

"Where you cold?" blade teased and kicked a stick into her fire. It sent sparks flying into the air and the girl looked at her fire with regret. So this is what they meant by having fun. Cato stopped forward into our circle and knelt down to the girl.

"Please don't kill me." She begged him, but he only smirked.

"I won't…but he will." Cato says and points to Jackson who grins and steps forward. He's grinning like he just won the lottery as he takes Cato's place.

"You should worry, this will probably hurt…a lot." he says and brings his spear down on the girl's stomach. She lets out an ear piercing scream as he slowly sinks the spear deeper. I want so badly to push him away from her and take her back home, but I know it would only mean my death too. At the last seconds of her life her eye looks up and straight into mine. She holds my gaze and I can't tear away from her even when her eyes roll back into her head and she slumps to the crimson colored jungle floor. Seconds later a canon booms in the distance.

"Nice one Jackson." They pat him on the back as if he's a hero and it makes me sick.

"No congrats?" He asks me. I look away from the girl and pull a fake smile.

"Couldn't have done it better." I tell him. He smirks and nods.

"Of course you couldn't have." I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. I think I'm going with number two.

"Blondie?" A voice shouts in the distance. It's definitely male and it's definitely close. Our heads snap up in the direction of the voice just as a young boy jumps into the clearing. His eyes widen as they fall onto us and his dead partner.

"Lost little boy?" Cato asks with a smirk. H looks at Cato and in seconds he's turned around and headed away from us. They laugh and take off after him. I jog behind and watch as they hoot and holler. It reminds me of when they were chasing Katniss.

"Split up." Cato orders. Jackson and Blade run one direction and Tug starts to head one direction. I want to follow Cato and I almost get to when I feel someone grab my hand. I look over and see Tug. He motions for me to follow him and reluctantly I do. As we run through the jungle after the kid we fall in step with the others who are right across from us. Tug picks up his pace and I force my legs to make longer strides to stay with him. He suddenly takes a sharp turn to the right. I almost twist my ankle trying to follow him, but I make the turn. The kid almost crashes into Tug as he runs. He has to make a quick stop, but when he tries to turn away he's cut off by Jackson and then Bladed. His only other way is cut off by Cato who walks out into his path like the ghost of death. The way the small bits of moonlight fall on his face and the shadows cloak him he looks menacing. The kid backs up and looks around realizing there's no way out. As he looks over in my direction I begin to recognize him. I remember seeing him throwing axes in training. He's from district seven.

"Her name was Blondie? How pathetic." Blade snickers. The kid looks at her with fiery eyes.

"She was my friend!" He shouts at her. Bladed only smiles at the outburst.

"Well think of it this way. Now you get to join her." Cato tells him and lifts his sword. The kid has to be only twelve or thirteen. He reminds me of Trexler. In the heat of the moment I panic because I realize that for some reason I can't let him die.

"Wait!" I shout and reach for the kid. I grab onto his arm and pull him behind me before Cato has time to blink. The way Cato looks at me makes me feel like a demon.

"What's wrong?" He snarls.

"We could use him. I saw him at training. He's good at throwing axes, amazing actually." I explain. Cato looks from the kid to me and back to the kid.

"Fine then, show us." He says and holds out his hand to Blade. She pulls out one of her daggers and hands it to Cato which he then hands to the kid. I look down at him and nod. He takes the dagger from Cato's hand and waits.

"If you can hit that leaf and pin it to that tree, I'll spare your life. If not, I'll pin you to the tree." He threatens and backs away. The kid looks nervous as he brings the dagger back. With a sideways toss and a swift flick of his wrist the leaf is pinned to the tree. No complications, no rustles, and no screw ups. Tug folds his hands across his chest and lets out a long whistle.

"Pretty impressive. Come on Cato, we could use someone like him." He says. Cato looks at him and then to Blade and Jackson. I don't know if Jackson's to happy about it, but Blade slowly nods her head.

"Might as well. I don't think we've ever had someone form district seven join the pack. We could make history." She says _as if _history is the only thing that matters, but for her it probably does. Finally Cato looks to me. I don't show him anything, but what I can't show through my body I force it to be shown in my eyes. I assume it works because Cato sighs and looks to the kid.

"Got a name?" He asks.

"Huck." He says.

"Got any equipment?" Cato asks. Huck nods and we follow him back the way we came until he stops at a large canopy tree. The trunk is huge and I'm surprised when he disappears underneath the trunk. When he pops back out he's carrying a ted draw string bag and an axe.

"Let's keep going." Cato says. I look down at Huck and decide to speak to.

"Cato?" He stops and all of them look over to me. I clear my throat and square my shoulders.

"Maybe the game makers have had enough excitement for one night." After I speak the silence becomes deafening. I want to do nothing, but crawl back into my shell where I can let Cato make the decisions for me.

"Take Huck back to camp. We'll be back by midnight." He says. I nod and gather Huck a bit closer to me as one by one they follow Cato into the night.

"Let's get going." I say and start to lead Huck towards the sound of water.

"What's your name?" he asks me.

"I'm Teena." I say with a smile and look down at him.

"Thank you Teena." He says. I grin and put an arm around his small shoulders as we head down down the river back towards our campsite.


	21. Authors note 3

**Authors note #3**

**Hello my friends! First off I hope you're day is going good. So I hope you liked the chapter Tribute Hunting. I'm in the process of searching for pictures of what I think the characters would look like (But of course you know what Cato looks like) …..(Or I think you do). I just think it would be cool because I know what I want the characters to look like and I know how to describe them, but I always think it would be nice to have something to go off of if you want it of course. So I'm really sorry about the slow updating. I just haven't been up to writing as much. I'm not sure why. I've just been really busy lately and with finals coming up for school I have a feeling I'm going to be getting a lot busier. I do have a question or you though. I pretty much have all my chapters and stuff planned out, but you guys are really good about reviewing and your reviews are always great so I was wondering if you guys had any ideas for the story. I've seen authors ask this question before and I think it would be really nice if I could add something in my story that was from my reviewers as, like, a small thank you because I know you guys don't have to review and you don't have to leave great reviews, but you do. SO if you have any ideas or want to maybe see something later on just leave I in a review or PM me. And my last question for this note. I love Cato fanfics and I am a fan of certain TV shows (like vampire diaries and movies (like Race to witch mountain and Journey to the center of the earth), but I think I need to expand my range. So if you guys have any suggestions of things I should maybe check out are things I should maybe try writing then I would love to hear those too. Once again thank you guys for being you and for taking time out of your day to read my stories and leave amazing reviews! Hope you guys have a great time with whatever life you have and never let anything get in your way! Love you guys!**

**From, Hop3lessR0mant1c**


	22. Careers Don't Get Jealous Blades POV

**Hey guys. Hows it going? So i want to say thank you to Rose Maple (Of course), Spitfyre20 for her amazing reviews, and a thanks to FirePearl97. i'm glad you like my story. I got some new followers and some new favorites fro both this story and my story _the 25th tribute_ so thank you for those. I want to start listing who has Favorited my stories and who has reviewed and who has followed because i realize you all play a very important roll. I got the idea from reading some author notes and i think it would be nice. That also means going through an email account that is overflowing with unread messages so it might take a while. So here is a little chapter i wrote. It's really short, but it's important with something that's going to happen later on in the story. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 19: Careers don't get jealous**

It's been about an hour or so since we left Teena and that kid behind. We're all getting tired so we'll be heading back soon. We found one other tribute and it wasn't much fun because Tug killed her too quickly. Now as we walk I stay close to Cato's side and every once in a while I'll look up at him. He always had that determined look on his face. His jaw would be set in place and his eyes would be scanning the area. Once he looked down and caught me gaze. I didn't turn away and all he did was huff and look back up. Maybe that's what sent my thoughts reeling. I hated her. Sure had seen something in her when we we're training together, but there's nothing now. I hate how fast she learns to use weapons. I hate how she loves everything. God, it's like she's a tree huger She has this strong act going and everyone believes it. The only person who can see past it is me. I noticed the way she could hardly look at the blonde girl we killed. She's not as strong as she looks and pretty soon she's going to break down. The one thing that gets me more than anything is her relationship with Cato. I can see the way they look at each other. Like it's true love. It makes me sick. A girl like her doesn't deserve a man like Cato. He deserves someone who has the same abilities as him. Someone who can laugh when they make a kill. Not some girl who has to learn fast and who stops us from killing. It just gets on my nerves because he deserves a girl like….me. I deserve to have a thing with Cato, not her. Why can't he see that? I could have anyone I wanted back home. I remember walking through the Academy hallways and boys would throw themselves at me. They would offer to carry my bag or work with on skills. During Simulations they would all volunteer to be my district partner. I had never met a boy who didn't want me and now here he is. All high and mighty. When I learned that Cato Spectral would be in the hunger games I freaked. He had been my hero. I was glad when that Clove girl died and I cheered him on against those stupid star crossed lovers. When he was on his victory tour I was there waiting for him. I screamed his name and he had looked at me. He had looked at me like all the other boys and now he won't even glance my way. It's like he has one of those purity rings. I wonder if Teena forced him to wear one.

"Blade?" I looked over my shoulder and saw Jackson staring at me.

"You ok?" He asked with his eye brow raised. I scowled and waved him off.

"I'm fine. Why would you ask that?" I ask him. He just looks at me and shrugs. I roll my eyes and turn front again. Sometimes Jackson can be so stupid. I'll admit I had a thing going with him. I mean he was the top boy in our academy and almost certain to be in the hunger games. So the day before the reaping I broke up with him. Love in the hunger games is too dangerous. This leads us back to Teena. Doesn't she know she's risking Cato's life? At least I could protect him if something goes wrong. But I'm not jealous of her. I'm not the jealous type. Plus it's impossible for me to be jealous, right? Because Careers don't get jealous. It never happens and it won't start with me.

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**So i hoped you liked it. Really short i know. It'll make sense soon i promise. Leave your reviews and if you have any questions you can PM me. I now have a polyvore account so i'm going to try and add that in so you start getting some visuals. Love ya'll and thanks again. **

** From Hop3lessR0mant1c**


	23. Mutts

**Hey guys! Thank again for your amazing reviews. A little bit of a thanks to everyone who has reviewed so here they are.**

**Snoozinghamster**

**Nicola**

**RoseMaple**

**Mrs. Mellark15**

**Spitfyre20**

**FirePearl97**

**Guest**

**and Bob Cratchit**

**thanks to all of you and i'll try and list the people that have Favorited and followed as well! I hope you like this chapter and have a great day!**

**Chapter 20: Mutts**

I felt something move beside me and opened my eyes. I looked down and realized it was Huck. We feel asleep when we got back to the camp, he must have moved over to me sometime after that. His small arms were tucked by his head and he was pushed against my stomach. I couldn't help, but smile as I ran my fingers through his soft curls. His eyes flutter open and he looks up at me. His face is adorable and I feel a small twinge of pain as I compare him to Trexler.

"Morning." I whisper to him. He smiles and closes his eyes again. I look around my tent and sit up stretching my back. I move the flap and walk out into the small camp clearing. Everyone's tent flap is closed so I assume they must be back. I walk over to the stream and bend down over the water. I cup some in my hands and splash my face with it. The fresh water feels good as it drips down my chin. I wipe it off with the bottom of my shirt and then splash some water on my bare feet.

"How does it feel?" I gasp and turn around to see Cato leaning against a tree. I take a deep breath and look back at the water.

"It feels good." I tell him. I hear the grass move under his feet and his reflection hovers over mine.

"We're going hunting." He says and I tense up.

"Again?" I ask him. He sits down next to me and shakes his head.

"For food not people." I feel relief when he explains.

"So what was with the hero mode last night?" He asks me.

"He reminded me of Trexler." I said hesitantly.

"You can't save everyone. It'll have to happen." He reminds me, but I already remind myself of that every day.

"I know, but…." I pause and look back at the tent as a sleepy Huck finally emerges.

"Let it be by someone else." I whisper to him before getting up and walking over to him.

"How good are you at hunting animals?" I ask him. He looks up at me and then shrugs.

"I use to hunt all the time for food in seven." He says. I look back to look at Cato, but he's disappeared back into his tent.

"Well get cleaned up and then we'll go." I tell him and give him a pat on the back before grabbing my arrows. By the time Huck was done everyone had slowly joined us in the small clearing.

"We should split up in pairs." Blade suggested.

"Too dangerous. We'll all go together." Cato instructed. I kept Huck close to me as we moved through the underbrush. All around us the jungle was starting to wake up. Huck tugged on my arm and I looked down at him.

"Look at that flower!" He exclaimed and pointed to the purple flower up in the vines.

"It's beautiful." I commented and pulled him along. I would have gotten it for him, but I didn't know anything about it. I wasn't paying attention as I looked at Huck and ended up bumping into Jackson. He threw me a glare and I shrunk back from him, moving around to get a look at Cato. He was stopped and looking up into the trees. I followed his gaze and saw an animal…I think. The thing was moving slow and it was covered head to toe in fur. From what I could tell it didn't look dangerous except for the long claws that protruded out from its hands and feet. Cato took out his sword, but I could already tell it was too far out of reach and I think he could tell too. He looked back at me and I nodded. I pulled out my bow and notched an arrow. I aimed high for the creature and let go off the string. The arrow hit with accuracy and the creature came tumbling down and landed with a thud on the ground. The arrow was stuck in its hip and I watched as it clawed around emitting terrible screeching noises. Cato quickly stepped forward and thrust his sword into its belly killing it instantly.

"Do you think the game makers did anything with it?" Tug asks.

"It would surprise me. Game makers usually don't mess with animals unless they're mutts created last minute." Cato assures him.

"Well then let's eat." Jackson says and bends down to pick the thing up.

"We'll go get the fire wood." I say and pull Huck away from the group. I make sure to keep Cato insight as we pick up anything that might burn. Our arms are full of twigs and vines when we come back. We drop it in a pile and blade pulls out a match box.

"Wait a minute." I exclaim as I spot some large rocks. I run over and pick them up, bringing them back to the group. I lay them on the pile and then motioned for Blade to start the fire.

"What are they for?" Tug asks.

"We need something to cook the meat on." I explain. Jackson's already caught on as he stripes meat away from the creature and lays it on the rock. The sound of fresh sizzling meat makes my mouth water. I can see it has the same effect on Huck who is staring at the meat.

"You're stare isn't going to make it cook faster." I joke and nudge him with my elbow. He looks at me and lets out a laugh before turning back to the meat.

"And the first piece goes to….me!" Sofee exclaims and takes a piece of meat off the stone. She looks at it for a second before taking a bite.

"Not bad." She says and continues eating it. Soon all of us are enjoying pieces of fresh meat. I look at mine can't help, but take in the amazing smells. I'm about to take a bit when another smell reaches my nose. It's the same musky scent I smelled only days ago.

"Do you smell that?" I ask. Everyone looks at me and shakes their heads. Huck pulls on my arm again and I look down at him.

"I smell it too." He whispers. So I'm not going crazy. I slowly stand and notch an arrow holding the string tight. Soon Cato stands and pulls out his sword. He walks over to sand by my side and nods.

"I smell it." He says. I turn my head and there it is. Stronger this time and it seems to upset my stomach. There's a crunch nearby and everyone jerks into a standing position along with us. Their weapons drawn. Huck stands by my side with his ax in hand. There's a growl and then the smell is gone. It just disappeared into thin air. It's quiet for split second and then it happens all too fast. A monstrous thing jumps from the brush to our right latches its jaws down on Sofees ankle. She lets out a blood curdling scream as it begins to drag her away. Her partner it the first to jump into action grabbing her out stretched hands. I'm the next as I let the arrow fly at the creature. It embeds itself in the creatures shoulder, but nothing seems to stop it as it continues to drag her. Only when Jackson sticks it with his spear does it give up and run back into the jungle.

"Get her up!" Cato yells at her partner. I notch another arrow just as another creature jumps out. By now I can classify them as dogs. I let he arrow fly and the dog falls to the ground. Hurt, but not dead. On its sides are black stripes. Its jaw is enormous, like nothing I have seen before.

"Run!" Cato shouts as more jump out. I don't hesitate to grab Huck's arm and tug him. We take off in a dead sprint with the others following close behind. Another scream pierces the air and I turn to see Sofee. The poor thing is lying on the ground, dogs surrounding her. I frown, but don't stop. As her screams die down I know there's nothing we can do. There's a canon in the distance, but we ignore it and keep running. Suddenly my foot gets caught and I trip. Huck stops and try's to pull me up, but it's not working.

"Just go!" I yell at him. There's a gleam in his eyes before he rushes off. I finally get my foot loose and stand up only to be knocked down as a dog jumps onto my back. Is cream and pull out and arrow jabbing it into the dogs back legs. It howls and falls off only to try again. This time I don't have an arrow. I jab my elbow into its neck and push against I as its jaws snap inches form my face.

"Cato!" I yell out in a desperate attempt. I hear a canon and wonder if the game makers decided to fire mine early. My arms getting tired and I can feel it start to go slack when the creature stops and falls dead at my feet. An arm wraps around my shoulders and hauls me up off the ground. I look up and can't help, but smile. He came back for me. He pushes me away and slashes at a creature before grabbing my hand and taking off. My feet struggle for a minute before I get into step with him. After what seems like forever the howls die down and the pounding of paws slows until there's nothing. We run into the group a little while later and all of them are hunched over breathing hard. Huck looks up with wide eyes and runs over to me. I wrap my arms around his small shoulders and run my fingers through his hair.

"I thought I lost you too." He whispers against my shirt.

"It's ok. I'm fine." I assure him. I look up at Cato and hold my hand out. He looks confused, but he takes it anyway.

"Thank you." I whisper to him and give his hand a squeeze before letting go and wrapping it back around Huck who's silently crying into my shirt.

"Who did we lose?" Cato asks. Blade looks around at us before frowning.

"District eleven." She says.

"Both of them?" Cato asks in disbelief. Blade nods and there's a moment of silence. It must have been the boy's canon that fired.

"We need a new game plan." Cato says and seems to relax, but the grip on his sword doesn't loosen and my grip on Huck doesn't either.


	24. authors note 4

**Hey sorry to have another authors note so soon. So if you go to my profile you'll notice i have deleted some stories and i'm in the process of editing my story ****The 25th Tribute.**** I did this because those stories were just sitting there and didn't get much though put into them. I would also like to announce that i'm planing on writing a story with my amazing reviewer RoseMaple. It's going to be about the hunger games for sure and we're discussing the details at the moment. I'm so excited because she's an amazing person and a great writer so i recommend you check out her profile if you haven't done so already. Anyway i'm not sure when i'll be able to get this next chapter up because this is my last week of school before...FINALS! and then with my California trip i'm going to be really busy. I hate to admit it, but i think my mind is starting to develop another writers block. I go through phases a couple times where i don't get writers block and then i'll get it for like two weeks or something. I hate it and i'm sure all of you writers know the feeling. So once again if you guys have any suggestions. Not big things just a phrase or a certain moment that you would like to see it would help me a lot and i would appreciate it. So glad i can call all of you my reviewers and followers. Thank you once again to Guest, RoseMaple and Spitfyre20 for leaving reviews on my last chapter. Can't wait to hear from all of you more! Stay true and keep writing! Bye**

**Hop3lessR0mant1c**


	25. New Game Plan

**Chapter 21: New Game plan**

"Huck it's going to be fine." I reassured him for the hundredth time as I helped him down into the sleeping bag. He hadn't let go off me all the way back to the camp. It took us about an hour because when the beasts attacked we had lost sight of the river and the whole placed just seemed the same. Huck looked up at me with worried eyes and held onto my arm with an iron grip.

"Huck you have to let go." I said and tried to get him to let go, but he wouldn't even loosen his grip. It was like I was the last person in the world.

"Promise me nothing will happen." He whispers. I let out a sigh, but nod and give him a small smile.

"I promise." I tell him. Slowly he lets go and I bend down to kiss the top off his head before leaving him to dream. When I walk out back out of the ten I head over to the stream. I bend down and hiss at the sudden sting of pain. I look down at my side and notice a red line start to spread through the cotton. I roll up my tank top and my nose scrunches as I stare at the long scrap. I must have gotten it when I fell to the ground. I took some water in my hand and splashed it on the wound. I gasped and bit my lip as the cold water hit the open wound. It hurt like hell, but at least it wasn't any worse than a scrap. I thought back to Sofee and could only imagine how it felt to have those teeth clamp down on my flesh. I lay on my back and looked up at the stars. I was the only one out when the anthem started playing. Sofee's face came on first and then her partner. It was weird to think that only a couple hours ago her smiling face was next to mine and now her smiling face is projected on the sky. I wonder if she had any family or any friends. After the night sky grew dark again I got up and grabbed my bow before climbing into a nearby tree. The branches hang low so it was an easy climb other than the small sting I felt every now and then. As I leaned up against the tree perched on one of the branches I realized just how big this jungle was. How were we ever going to find other tributes in this? I mean we had found some by the river, but what happens when we have to head away from the river? I heard a chirp beside me and looked over to see a wonderful colored bird. It looked at me with its bead like eyes and then flies down next to me.

"Hello there." I whispered to it. Oh great now I'm talking to birds. I guess the hunger games really do turn you crazy. The bird just chirped back and hopped a bit closer to me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small piece of jerky. The bird studied it for a moment before grabbing it in its long beak and taking off. I watched it fly off into the night and then disappear completely. With every passing minute it seemed to get lonelier. I wish I would have asked someone else to take watch. I had almost been eaten and I had to keep watch?! Although when you thought about it for a moment it wasn't that bad. I got time to myself and away from everyone else. That was a giant plus. As my eye lids started to droop I felt something shake my tree. I ignored it, but it only happened again and again until I looked down angrily. Cato looked up at me and motioned for me to come down. I raised an eyebrow at him, but did as he said. I slowly climbed down and before I could jump the rest of the way he grabbed my waist and brought me down himself. I looked at him and was about to speak when he held a finger up to his lips. I nodded and remained silent as he led me out of the clearing and only a few feet into the jungle around us.

"Cato what's going on?" I ask him in a whisper.

"You know how I said we needed a new game plan?" He asks me and I nod.

"Well this is it." He says. It takes me a minute to understand because right now I'm literally sleep walking. When I finally understand I can't even speak. He wants to leave the group which means no protection from them, which means we become top of the target list.

"Are you crazy?" I ask him in disbelief.

"It's becoming dangerous. I don't like the signals that I'm getting from Jackson." He says.

"Well then just give him the leading position." I exclaim at him. He shushes me and I calm down a bit.

"That would look bad in front of everyone including sponsors." He has a point, but it's either no sponsors or become one of careers hunted.

"It's too dangerous Cato." I look at him with pleading eyes, but he's too stubborn.

"Fine, but please promise me we'll be ok." I beg him. He grabs me face in between his hands and I grab onto his wrists.

"I promise to protect you. Go get your stuff and meet me back here." He says. I nod and head back into the camp. I'm quiet as I enter my tent.

"Hey buddy, time to get up." Huck yawns and looks up at me.

"What's going on?" He asks. I help him up and grab my backpack. I lift it onto my shoulders and then grab Huck's backpack helping him get it on.

"There's been a change in plans." I tell him and we exit the tent. For the first time I notice Cato's tent has been taken down. I wonder when he was able to do that. I don't spend any more time thinking about it as I lead Tuck out of the clearing and over to Cato making sure we don't make too much noise.

"Why did you bring him?" Cato leans in and whispers. I pull back and give him the *do you really have to ask that* look before zipping up Huck's sweater. He smiles at me with his sleepy eyes and I melt.

"Ok let's go." Cato says and starts to lead the way. I make sure to keep Huck by me as we head through the forest.

"So where do you plan on taking us?" I ask him. He looks back at me and smiles.

"A little place I had spotted." He explains. A few more minutes later we stop and Cato points to a giant tree. I don't think I've ever seen something that big. He leads us over to the trunk and Cato doesn't come close to wrapping his arms around it. He looks at me before bending down and disappearing into the tree. I raise my eyebrow and can't help but smile when I see a blonde head poke out through the roots. He lifts his hands up and motions to me. I hand him Huck and he lifts him down before lifting me down beside him. I look around and smile. Sure it's not the cleanest place or the biggest place, but it's perfect for the three of us. I hear light breathing and look over at Huck who has already fallen back asleep.

"The best thing is there are no cameras here." Cato says with an amused look.

"What's so amusing about that?" I ask him.

"It's rare that any place in the hunger games doesn't have cameras and I checked high and low. There are no cameras here." He says and looks at me. I roll my eyes before walking over to him and planting my lips on his. It's almost been too long. He leans in more and I smile into the kiss.

"Are you sure there are no cameras?" I ask him again before he pecks me on the lips.

"No, not really." He says. I gasp in mock offence and hit him on the shoulder. It's weird how normal it feels to see him smile and laugh. When we're away from the others we don't have to worry about acting harsh. I laid my back pack down by the side and used it as a pillow. Cato settled down by me a few inches away, but it was the closet we had been in a while.

"Are you sure this was a good idea?" I ask him. He stares up at the bottom of the tree trunk and shrugs.

"We'll just have to see." He says. I sigh and turn my back to him. I close my eyes and hope that it goes fine.

* * *

**Aloha! I'm really sorry for not updatign sooner. I'm finally done with finals and it's christmas break which means two week s off of school and a week vacation wiht my highschool band in california! So excited! but i knew i had to update adn it was my goal to update tonight for you guys. so here's the next chapter and tell me if it was a bite, off. i tried to make a Cato and Teena moment while following the plot so if there's somethign i can fix go ahead and please tell me because i would be happy to do it. Still lookign for any ideas if you guys want to share. Oh and check out RoseMaples profile. I told you guys that i'm making a fanfic with her adn it's happening. It's a Cato/ Oc and she just got the first chapter posted. hope you like that adn thanks for leavign your amazing reviews! Oh and a thanks to **

** 4everloveAudrey**

**and **

**Elizabeth**

**for joining my growing list of reviewers. every time i get a new review i always smile and freak out because it means a lot to me. Thanks again see you guys next chapter!**

**From, Hop3lessR0mant1c**


	26. They Left: Jacksons POV

**hey guys, so thank you soo much for gettting me past 40 reviews. Oh and thanks for reviewing my Race to witch mountain fanfiction. So this chapter is really short and i'm sorry about that but i thought it would be cool to do one form Jacksons POV. just so you can get a glimpse inside his head. SO hope you like it and see you next chapter!**

**Chapter 22: Traitors**

**Jacksons POV**

"The first thing I'm going to do is ring his neck." I growled as we looked for them. I don't even know why we bothered looking in the first place. They were traitors. They left the pack which means they aren't part of it.

"Maybe they just went for a walk." Tug suggested. I glared at him and shook my head.

"So why the hell would they leave with all their supplies?" I ask him.

"Jackson would you just chill. Give them a day." Blade said with a bored tone. God it's like no one had my back on this. I threw my spear into the ground and let out a defeated sigh. The one good thing was that they were finally out of the way. I could take my place as leader of the careers pack. It may not be a pack for too long if Tug doesn't act like the career he his.

"Why should I give them a day? It's obvious they left for good." I asked Blade. I sat down next to her and she looked up at me.

"If you were gone I would give you a day." She offered.

"But I wouldn't leave the pack." I growled at her.

"Listen Jackson it's possible they went to hide their supplies and we all kill each other at the end of the games anyway. Maybe they had the sense we don't." She yelled at me. That's when I saw the look in her eyes. She was off today and I good guess why.

"You want to protect him!?" I accused her.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" She said and looked to the ground.

"You like him and you're jealous of her. You think that if you can protect him he'll realize Teena's useless." I had figured her whole plan out. It was obvious by the way she was glaring at me. She pulled one of her daggers out and pointed it at me.

"One more word about this ridiculous accusation flies out of your mouth and your head flies off too." She threatens me before putting her dagger away and walking into her tent. I look over to a Tug who's staring at me. He catches my gaze and quickly begins to whistle looking away. I look away from him and into the jungle and think of how good it will feel to run Cato through with me sword.


	27. It's Not Fair

**Hows it going? I feel bad i gave you guys a short chapter last time so I made this one pretty long. Teena does let out one or two ccurse words, but nothing like F*** so don't worry. I was goign to go with a different title, but i figured it would give to much away. I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked all the others, but you'll probably hate me for it at the same time and that's all i'm going to say. See you guys next chapter and thanks for your amazing reviews. **

**Chapter 23: It's Not Fair**

Someone shook my shoulder and I sat up slowly.

"Teena?" I looked down and smiled at Huck who was sitting beside me.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"I couldn't sleep. Cato wouldn't stop snoring." He complained. I looked over at Cato who had turned his back to me in the night and was all curled up in a ball. I laughed and kissed the top of Hucks head.

"Go get yourself a piece of jerky. I'll wake him up." He did as told and I made my way over to Cato.

"Time to get up." I said as I bent over him. He groaned and I was taken by surprise when he rolled toward me. I had been on my knees which we're knocked out from under me. Let's have a lesson today. Cato rolling over was the cause and the effect was knocking me over so I landed right on top of him. He let out a huff and opened his eyes to see my face centimeters away from his.

"Couldn't stay away could you?' He teased. I scoffed and smacked him on the chest as I pushed myself up.

"Very funny. Did you know there was a bear wondering around last night…oh wait it was just you and your snoring." His face got the tiniest bit red and I heard Hucks small laughter from the corner.

"Was it that bad?" Cato asked. I shrugged and nodded towards Huck.

"I don't know. Ask him." I said. Cato looked to Huck who nodded a yes.

"Well I was just getting a goodnights sleep for today. We're moving again." He said and stood up. I noticed that the ceiling was a bit low and laughed as Cato had to duck so not to hit his head. He looked over at me and glared.

"It's not my fault I'm tall. At least I'm not as short as you." He said. I put my hand over my heart and acted like I was hurt. Huck walked over and handed each of us two pieces of Jerky and our canteens.

"Go ahead and eat. I'll be outside." Cato said and climbed out the small hole. I watched him disappear to the surface and turned to Huck.

"Are you ok with traveling?" I asked him.

"I don't think it matters, but I'll be ok. I'm twelve year old boy. I got some strength in me." He said and jokingly showed me his small muscles. I smiled and ruffled his hair to which he growled and tried to mat it back down.

"Let's go tough guy." I said and we walked over to the hole. I helped him out first and then Cato helped pull me out next.

"We'll keep heading away from the river. It had split up the bank so if we keep walking we should hit a small water source." Cato said and pulled his sword out. I grabbed my bow and held an arrow in my other hand in case we ran into those dogs again.

"Ready?" He asked. I nodded and we headed to our next location. Cato led the way and cut down anything that got in our way so the path was clear. I got the back and would always look over my shoulder to make sure we weren't being followed by anyone or anything. I always made sure Huck was in the middle of us. I couldn't help, but look down at his small had as it wrapped around the handle of his axe. I hoped he wouldn't have to use it today.

"How do you think the others feel right now?" I asked out of the blue. The silence was getting a bit to awkward for me.

"They're probably pissed off right now. By tomorrow we'll just be more tributes to…" I looked up and saw that Cato wasn't there anymore.

"Cato?" Huck called and rushed forward only to disappear as well. It was like he was just sucked into the ground. I started to panic and would have rushed forward if Cato and Tuck hadn't resurfaced.

"Teena don't come closer!" Cato warned. Only their heads we're visible above the leaves.

"Huck stop struggling!" Cato shouted over to him. Huck this look of terror on his face as he wiggled back and forth which only made him sink more.

"What is it!?" I yelled at Cato who was looking around for something.

"Quick sand." He said. I gulped and slowly crept forward. I had heard stories about quick sand from my father who told me about the games that played before I was born. Half the tributes were killed one year because of hidden Quick Sand pits.

"What do I do?" I asked him.

"Tell Huck to stop struggling and give me a second." He said. Both of them we're up to their chins in quick sand, but Huck was sinking much faster than Cato.

"Huck, look at me!" I ordered him. His breathing was heavy as he stared at me. His eyes were full of fright and I only wanted to get him out.

"Huck you have to stop struggling. I'm gonna get you two out ok?" I assured him. He slowly began to calm down and relax his shoulder.

"I got it! Teena grab the long vine." Cato instructed. I rushed over to the longest vine I could find and took it in my hands.

"Good now throw it over to me." He said. I took as much as I could and with a few swings I launched it toward him. It smacked into the sand and started to sink. The sand moved as Cato searched for it with his buried hands.

"I got it. Huck reach over and grab onto me." He said. Huck nodded and the sand around him barley moved as his own hands searched for Cato.

"I got your jacket!" Huck exclaimed.

"Hold on tight and don't let go." Cato demanded as he started to pull on the vine. Ever so slowly they made their way over to solid land. I waited anxiously with my arms held out. When they were in at least 3 feet from me I stretched my arms and grabbed hold of Huck. I pulled as hard as I could and finally his arms we're free of sand. He helped me pull him up the rest of the way and once I got him out of the sand I went over and helped Cato. They both dropped to the ground and took deep breathes as they regained oxygen. I dropped to my knees by Huck and wrapped him in a hug. Next I crawled over to Cato and wrapped him in my arms. He put a hand on my back and held me to him before I pulled back.

"Be more careful!" I scolded him before giving him another hug. Both of them we're covered in wet sand and some of it got on me when I hugged them, but I didn't care.

"So now what?" I ask Cato.

"We keep going. We can't stop now." He said and wiped his sword on the grass.

"So we'll just have to find another way around." I conclude and grab a nearby stick. I help Huck up off the ground and take the lead. As we make our way around the sand pit I poke the ground with the stick to make sure it's solid and sturdy. Once the Quick sand is behind us I throw the stick to the side and we continue on. By now the sun has made its way to the middle of the sky.

"Let's get something to eat." I stop and take the pack from Cato. I shuffle through it and find the bag of dried fruit. Each of us grabs a few pieces and we devour them in seconds which makes me realize just how hungry we are.

"What happens when we run out of food?" Huck asks as he eats his last piece of fruit.

"We go hunting and find more." I answer. Huck looks to Cato who nods in agreement to my answer. We sit for a bit more as we rest and then we pack up. This time we flank each other a stay tight together. Once again there's a silence that seems to last forever.

"So Huck. What's your family like?" I ask him.

"Well my dad works in the paper factory. I have a younger sister and an older brother who has moved out. My mom doesn't really like me." He says which makes me frown.

"I'm sure she loves you." I tell him.

"When your birthday kid?" Cato asks. Huck smiles up at him and the way he looks at Cato makes me smile as well.

"I'll turn thirteen tomorrow actually." Cato looks at me and I offer him a sad smile before we both look down at Huck.

"Well I'll be the first one to wish you a happy birthday." I said and pull huck into my arms. The rest of the time is spent asking questions. I don't want to call it bonding, but it's something to pass the time and avoid silence. The sun is close to setting when we stop and set up camp. Cato pulls down some vines to help hide us from unwanted visitors and I help Huck into his sleeping bag.

"Goodnight." I tell him before crawling into my own sleeping bag. I stay awake for a little longer as I watch the boys. After Huck closes his eyes Cato is the next one the fall asleep. Not long after I close my eyes and drift off.

* * *

"Teena! Cato!" I bolt up right and look over at Huck who's twisting and turning in his sleeping bag. I'm about to get up and help him when a blinding pain fills my senses. I grab a flashligth from the bag and turn it on only to let out a high pitched scream. Red ants...red fire ants are everywhere. They're on my sleeping bag, in my sleeping bag, under my clothes. They're all over Cato and all over Huck. After my second scream Cato wakes up only to start freakign out himself. I twist and turn trying to throw as many off of me as I can. I finally get out of my sleepign bag and scramble over to Huck. I unzip his sleeping bag and millions of the little critters pour out. There has to have been twice as many in his sleepign bag then were in mine.

"Get out of here." Cato shouts and grabs us pushing us away. We all run out and I fall to the ground trying desperate to get the things off. I can feel their legs as they crawl over my skin. I can feel their fangs bit and their stingers plunge into my skin. I feel like my whole body is on fire. Soon enough I just begin to stripe. I throw off my shoes and slide out of my kakis. I rip my tank top off so i'm left in a sports bra and my spandex. I'm not the only one who shed layers. Cato still swats at his skin as he sits in only his black boxers. After a minute or two the ants finally start to disappear, but the feeling of them doesnt leave.

"Is everyone ok?" I ask. I hear Cato grunt in response, but i don't hear anythign from Huck.

"Huck you ok?" I ask again. I lok over ot my left where i saw him run only to find him face down in the dirt.

"Shit!" I exclaima and crawl over to him ignoring the excruciating pain that shoots through my limbs. I make it over to him and roll him over so he's lyign on his back. His breathing is heavy and his eyes search around for something. I put my hand on his cheek and tilt his head my way.

"Huck can you see me. Look at me Huck." I say. his eyes finally lock on my face and the smallestt of smiles graces his lips.

"Good, you're ok." He whispers. I smile and nod.

"Of course i'm ok silly. Nothing can get me. You're gonna be ok too." I assure him. His breathing becomes more shallow and his eyes squeeze shut.

"It hurts Teena." He complains. I feel like my heart is being ripped in two as I watch him start to shake with pain.

"It'll be ok. You're gonna be ok." I assure him over and over again.

"Cato whats in the first aid kit?!" I ask him. He limps over to our sleeping place nad digs through the bag quickly. He limps back over and bends down next to me as he looks through the box.

"We only have band aids and some gauze." He says with a frown. I take the box and look through it myself, but he's right.

"We'll just get a sponsor gift. It'll be fine." I say. Huck looks at me and smiles.

"What do you think my mom thinks right now?" He asks. His voice is getting weaker and I struggle to hear him.

"She's so proud of you." Cato tells him. He smiles and his eyes leave my face only to find Cato's.

"You really think so?" He asks. Cato smiles and nods.

"Thank you mom." He whispers and looks over at me. I feel tears start to slide down my cheeks as i bend down and kiss him on the forehead.

"You're welcome baby." I whisper to him. I pull him into my arms despite the pain and run my fingers through his hair. His eyes close adn i know he's gone.

"What time is it Cato?" I whisper as I stare at Hucks peaceful face.

"I don't haev a watch." Cato says as he stares at Huck. Just then there's a beep from the sky. I look up as a silver container floats down. I grab it from the air and open it to find a watch and a note.

**Always watch the time ~ Enobaria**

Just as i flip the watch over the little hand hits lines up wiith the big hand. It's midnight which means Huck will turn thirteen. I look over at hima dn smile.

"Happy birthday Huck." I whisper. Cato reaches over to hima dn closes his eyes. Thats when I lose it. Sobs rack my body and i feel Cato's arms wrap around me. I bury my face in his bare chest and sob.

"I tried so hard. We made it through careers, and dogs, adn quick sand. Now he's dead nad it's because of stuppid fire ants! Fire ant! It's just not fair." I exclaim with another heart renching sob. Cato rests his chin on my head and rubs circles on my back.

"No, it's not fair. It never is." He whispers.


	28. Authors note 5

**Hello people. So I have something to tell you guys. I hurt me to say that I am going through a bad period of writers block. I literally can't think of anything to write. I kind of know where I want the story to go from here, but I have drawn a blank on what exciting events to put in and what to say. I open the story up on my computer and I sit with my hands on the keys yet I can't think of a single word. I know that you guys always say i don't need help and that you don't have any ideas to make it any better, but I am down on my knees. I really need some ideas. I mean they don't have to be big. If you guys want to PM me with a phrase or a scene or a paragraph or oneshots I could put in the story. Thats all i'm asking for. I would be so happy if you guys could do this for me. Just know that i'm working on trying to get something amazing together for you guys because you deserve it. SO get back to me with your amazing ideas and i'll see you guys when I get the next chapter up.**

**From, Hop3lessR0mant1c**


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